BANGKOK, Sept 25 – King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang has introduced a new invention using microwave drying out of waterlogged soil to help flood-hit farmers who normally lose several weeks waiting for the soil to drain and dry before resuming cultivation.
A waveguide applicator is capable of eliminating the moisture contents of soil in only a few days.
The institute said an experiment was conducted in a pomelo orchard in Nakhom Pathom’s Nakhon Chaisri district which proved successful.
The applicator works like a microwave oven by releasing electromagnetic radiation into the soil to accelerate moisture evaporation.
Prof Monai Krairiksh, a researcher and deputy rector of the institute, said a microwave soil heating applicator costs only Bt4,000-5,000. He said that the institute is willing to transfer the technology to planters whose orchards have been affected by floods or anyone who is interested.
