The Straw Manual: A practical guide to cost-effective straw utilization and disposal

by Bill Butterworth (Editor)

Overview

This book is not about what might be done with straw one day. It is about what can be done with it right now on the farm. It is about today's technology, allowing decisions to be made about what to do with straw this year in order to minimize costs, minimize management problems and maximize yields and profits. It can be read cover to cover, chapter by chapter or dipped into as a reference book. Whichever way, this manual is aimed at helping the farmer to understand the technology and do the job that has to be done - profitably. Action Plans which summarize the relevant data and ease decision-making appear at the end of each chapter. The final part is a Decision Planner which will help with tackling the job in hand, on the day. Acknowledgments Grateful thanks are given to many individuals and organizations for their assistance, support and provision of information. Special acknowledgment is made to the fine work done by ADAS and their staff who made efforts to provide a great deal of up to date data for this publication. Thanks for assistance are also given to leI Plant Protection Division and to John Deere who, through their annual Award to agricultural writers, sparked this project off by giving the award to the author in 1982.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780419136606
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	07/18/1985
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

Table of Contents

1 Straw production.- Straw as a raw material. Possible utilization. Incorporation. Action plan.- 2 Field burning.- Methods of burning. Byelaws. Swath burning — an alternative. Burning — effects on soil fauna. Burning — effects on flora. Burning — ash absorption of herbicides. Action plan.- 3 Incorporation of ash, stubbles and straw.- The national scene. Effects on yield. Burned off seedbeds. Stubble management. Incorporation. Weed control. Disease control. Cultivation — machinery systems. Cultivation rotation. Costing and decision making. Action plan.- 4 Harvesting, handling and storage.- Harvesting. Baling: methods and costs. Densification. Action plan.- 5 Straw feeding.- The potential. Straw as a food. Chemical treatment. Alternative treatments. Cocktails. The design of diets. Caustic treated straw — practical diets. Ammonia treated straw — practical diets. Cocktail treated straw — practical diets. Supplementation. Action plan.- 6 Straw as a fuel.- Straw as a fuel — its basic value and characteristics. The equipment available. Action plan.