Table 1.

Characteristics of the soil used in the incubation studies.

Characteristics	Average value
Water holding capacity	37.5%
Cation exchange	11 meq 100 g−1
Soil texture:
(i) Sand	52%
(ii) Silt	20%
(iii) clay	28%
pH	6.8
Nitrogen
(i) Ammoniacal nitrogen	21.4 ppm
(ii) Nitrate-N	5.2 ppm
(iii) Nitrite-N	N.D*
(iv) Total nitrogen	0.06%
Organic carbon	1.45%
Phosphate-P	32.2 ppm

  ^*N.D.: Not determined.