THE EFFECT OF MICROWAVE SOIL TREATMENT ON RICE PRODUCTION UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

Interest in chemical-free weed management practices has increased to overcome herbicide resistance in sustainable crop production systems. In this study, we examined microwave (MW) irradiation as an alternative weed management strategy in a direct-seeded rice crop under field conditions. Pre-emergence MW irradiation (2.45 GHz, 600 W, 120 s) of the soil was assigned in a randomized complete block design with five replications. The projection of 560 J cm(-2) of MW energy into the soil gave a temperature gradient of 80 degrees C to 90 degrees C in the top 5 to 6 cm, which induced a 70% to 80% reduction in weed establishment through the soil seedbank compared to the untreated control. Therefore, a 34% increase in the grain yield of rice (9.0 t ha(-1)) was achieved compared to the non-MW scenario (6.7 t ha(-1)). Microwave-based weed control could be effective in managing herbicide-resistant weed biotypes in cropping systems.