The Kinetics of Straw Decomposition in Relation to Its Potential to Produce the Phytotoxin Acetic Acid

Summary The losses of total weight and of the individual components of oat straw were followed under field conditions over one cropping season. Decomposition rates of cellulose and hemicellulose were closely similar, and together these polysaccharides accounted for most of the weight losses. Losses of lignin were small, and total weight loss can be calculated from the increase in percentage lignin in recovered samples. Straw retained the potential to produce phytotoxic concentrations of acetic acid only during the early stages of decomposition. Both the water soluble components and the readily available polysaccharides are probably substrates for the production of acetic acid. Early incorporation of straw minimised the potential for toxin production during winter.