Cultivating impact: Oliver Knox joins CQUniversity's horticulture team

Principal Research Fellow - Horticulture Oliver Knox has joined CQUniversity bringing more than 30 years of experience in agricultural science, soil health and industry-driven research.

Originally from Scotland, Oliver's career has taken him from the University of Aberdeen to CSIRO, the University of New England and leadership roles across the agricultural sector in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Known for combining practical industry knowledge with scientific research, Oliver has worked closely with growers throughout his career to develop solutions to real-world challenges. Among his many achievements is the nationally recognised Soil Your Undies initiative, which helped raise awareness of soil health through a simple and engaging demonstration.

Now based at CQUniversity, Oliver is excited by the opportunity to support Central Queensland's diverse horticulture industries and strengthen the University's research impact.

"There is so much diversity on our doorstep and strong relationships already in place with industry and the community," he said.

"With a highly skilled team, we have a great opportunity to build on those partnerships and deliver practical, science-based solutions that make a real difference for growers."

Oliver and the horticulture team are currently tackling a broad range of industry challenges. Their research includes improving quality outcomes in capsicum and chilli crops to reduce the risk of market rejection and increase grower profitability, reducing waste in sweet potato production, and investigating the causes and impacts of nut drop in macadamia orchards.

The team is also working with herb producers to develop tools that can predict flavour characteristics before harvest and enable remote monitoring of crop quality. Other projects include assessing the effectiveness and risks of drone-based crop protection applications, improving mechanical pineapple harvesting, supporting ginger seed quality and harvest characterisation, and developing improved screening methods for crop resistance to plant-parasitic nematodes and fungal diseases.

Passionate about collaboration, Oliver believes the best research starts by listening to industry needs.

"If people have a challenge that needs solving, I encourage them to reach out," he said.

"We have incredible expertise at CQUniversity and some of the best outcomes come from working together to find practical solutions."

Looking ahead, Oliver's vision is to position CQUniversity's horticulture team as a trusted partner for growers and industry, delivering practical research that creates real-world outcomes. By combining scientific expertise with strong industry collaboration, he hopes to help producers improve productivity, profitability and sustainability while addressing the challenges facing agriculture into the future.

"Success for me is having a healthy, respected and impactful research team that people turn to when they need answers," he said.

"We have the expertise, the relationships and the opportunity to make a genuine difference. If our work helps growers solve problems, adopt new technologies and build more resilient production systems, then we're achieving exactly what we set out to do."

Prospective students can learn more about CQUniversity's horticulture study options at www.cqu.edu.au/study/horticulture.