EFFECT OF MICROWAVE RADIATION ON INTERNAL INOCULUM OF ASCOCHYTA BLIGHT IN LENTIL SEEDS AT DIFFERENT SEED MOISTURE CONTENTS

Abstract

Considering the development of pest and pathogen resistance to chemical treatments and the cost of developing new chemicals, proper physical methods for integrated pest management seem to be gaining interest. Microwave treatment has been considered a potential postharvest pest and disease management strategy in legume and grain seeds. The effect of this process on pathogens related to legumes, which could be expressed as a very fast and volumetric thermal treatment, has not been fully studied. In this study, a domestic microwave oven with full output power of 1100 W (company information) or 485 W (calibrated with 150 g of water) was used to treat red lentil seeds that were naturally infected..