Methodology for multicriteria assessment and selection of an effective method of grain disinfection

High-quality crop products should not contain extraneous and dangerous substances of both natural and artificial origin. Natural contaminants include parasitic micro-fungi and bacteria; artificial ones include chemical compounds in the form of pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides, in one way or another solving the problem of disinfection, are themselves very dangerous. In addition, their constant use leads to mutations of parasitic microorganisms in the direction of extremely stable species, i.e. the problem of resistance. To avoid these shortcomings, there are alternative disinfection methods based on various types of electromagnetic energy. A variety of such methods raises the purpose of their objective assessment, including in comparison with chemical etching. This determined the purpose of the study, which consists in developing a scientifically based methodology for multicriteria assessment and choosing an effective method of grain disinfection. The object of the study was the chemical and electrophysical methods of disinfection, the subject of the study - the patterns of choosing the best of them. The novelty was made up of the stages of the methodology: structuring the attribute space, compiling a hierarchical diagram of groups of attributes, determining weighting factors and estimates based on the specifics of agricultural production. In mathematical tools, the maximum sum of weighted estimates method is used, according to which the integral criterion F is calculated. The technique is suitable for any disinfection methods with any number of signs and alternatives. An example of its application for four alternatives is given: chemical etching, microwave disinfection, SHV disinfection, disinfection with a low-frequency magnetic field (LMF). At the same time, the advantage of the LMF method was established, which received the maximum integral estimate F = Fmax = 0,864. The conclusions are drawn about the reliability of the methodology, the possibility of its application in an expanded space of signs, which gives an updated assessment.

disinfection, pesticides, resistance, electrophysical methods, multicriteria analysis, methodology, structuring of characteristics, hierarchical scheme, integral criterion, low-frequency magnetic field (LMF)