Biometric substantiation of the efficacy of pre-sowing microwave soil treatment: a pot experiment using maize

Marat A. Shereuzhev, Madin A. Shereuzhev, A.Yu. Kishev

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Abstract. The article presents a repeated pot experiment aimed at verifying the agronomic feasibility of pre-sowing soil microwave treatment for maize cultivation.
Aim. This study aims to evaluate the technical and biological efficacy of utilizing microwave energy during early-stage soil preparation for maize. The necessity of a repeated pot experiment stems from methodological shortcomings in the initial study (Shereuzhev et al., 2025), which relied predominantly on qualitative scales and assessed yield parameters using individual ears without replication.
Materials and methods. Each of the three soil treatments (mechanical control, steam heating, and microwave irradiation) was performed in three replications. All plants underwent biometric measurements, including aboveground dry biomass, leaf count, and assimilation surface area. Ears were characterized by tray-average values for weight, length, diameter, and grain number per ear. Statistical significance was verified using analysis of variance with pairwise comparisons.
Results. Plants grown in the microwave-treated soil outperformed those in the untreated control in terms of aboveground dry biomass, leaf area, average ear weight, and grain count, while weed infestation was substantially reduced. The correlation between weed population density and crop biomass suggests an indirect mechanism of microwave action, where the suppression of competitors subsequently benefits the main crop.
Conclusions. The experiment yielded quantitative data that provide agronomic specifications for engineering a robotic microwave applicator for pre-sowing soil treatment. Implementing this robotic microwave applicator could significantly reduce herbicide dependency.

Keywords: microwave soil treatment, MW sterilization, biometric analysis, vegetation experiment, maize, weed infestation, robotic applicator, above-ground biomass, leaf area, kernel count

For citation. Shereuzhev Marat A., Shereuzhev Madin A., Kishev A.Yu. Biometric substantiation of the efficacy of pre-sowing microwave soil treatment: a pot experiment using maize. News of the Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of RAS. 2026. Vol. 28. No. 3. Pp. 165–180. DOI: 10.35330/1991-6639-2026-28-3-165-180

©   Shereuzhev Marat A., Shereuzhev Madin A., Kishev A.Yu., 2026

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Information about the authors

Marat A. Shereuzhev, Postgraduate Student, Department of Agronomy, Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University named after V.M. Kokov;
1v, Lenin avenue, Nalchik, 360030, Russia;
Junior Researcher, Institute of Computer Science and Problems of Regional Management – branch of the Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
37-a, I. Armand street, Nalchik, 360000, Russia;
marat.shereuzhev07@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7368-4691
Madin A. Shereuzhev, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Robotic systems and mechatronics, Bauman Moscow State Technical University;
5, 2-nd Baumanskaya street, Moscow, 105005, Russia;
shereuzhev@bmstu.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2352-992X
Alim Yu. Kishev, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor, Acting Head of the Department of Agronomy, Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University named after V.M. Kokov;
1v, Lenin avenue, Nalchik, 360030, Russia;
a.kish@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2838-6876

Funding

The study was performed without external funding.