This open access book on straw management aims to provide a wide array of options for rice straw management that are potentially more sustainable, environmental, and profitable compared to current practice. The book is authored by expert researchers, engineers and innovators working on a range of straw management options with case studies from Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. The book is written for engineers and researchers in order to provide them information on current good practice and the gaps and constraints that require further research and innovation. The book is also aimed at extension workers and farmers to help them decide on the best alternative straw management options in their area by presenting both the technological options as well as the value chains and business models required to make them work. The book will also be useful for policy makers, required by public opinion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, looking for research-based evidence to guide the policies they develop and implement.

Upland rice plant types; Life cycle of the rice plant; Seeds; Factors that affect seedling growth; What is a good seedling; How to grow good seedlings; Leaves; Roots; Tillers; Panicles; Dormancy; Fertilizers; How much nitrogen to apply; How to increase the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer; Other fertilizers and organic matter; Carbohydrate production; Water; Yield components; Plant type with good yield potential; Factors that affect lodging; Land conservation and crop management; Weeds; Control of weeds; Herbicides; Major diseases; Major soil-borne insect pests; Major insect ests during vegetative phase; Major insect pests during reproductive phase; Other pests; Soil problems; Hot to judgea rice crop at flowering; Harvest and postharvest; Cropping systems.

Rice ecosystems; Nutrient management; Mineral deficiencies; Mineral toxicities; Tools and information.

Soils comprise the largest pool of terrestrial carbon and therefore are an important component of carbon storage in the biosphere-atmosphere system. Structure and Organic Matter Storage in Agricultural Soils explores the mechanisms and processes involved in the storage and sequestration of carbon in soils. Focusing on agricultural soils - from tropical to semi-arid types - this new book provides an in-depth look at structure, aggregation, and organic matter retention in world soils. The first two sections of the book introduce readers to the basic issues and scientific concepts, including soil structure, underlying mechanisms and processes, and the importance of agroecosystems as carbon regulators. The third section provides detailed discussions of soil aggregation and organic matter storage under various climates, soil types, and soil management practices. The fourth section addresses current strategies for enhancing organic matter storage in soil, modelling techniques, and measurement methods. Throughout the book, the importance of the soil structure-organic matter storage relationship is emphasized. Anyone involved in soil science, agriculture, agronomy, plant science, or greenhouse gas and global change studies should understand this relationship. Structure and Organic Matter Storage in Agricultural Soils provides an ideal source of information not only on the soil structure-storage relationship itself, but also on key research efforts and direct applications related to the storage of organic matter in agricultural soils.