Table 4.
Initial fertility status of the experimental site.
| S. No. | Particulars | Values | Method followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanical analysis | ||
| Sand (%) | 64.9 | Hydrometer method122 | |
| Silt (%) | 21.0 | ||
| Clay (%) | 14.1 | ||
| Textural class | Sandy-loam | ||
| 2 | Physical properties | ||
| Bulk density (Mg m−3) | 1.57 | Veihmeyer and Hendrickson123 | |
| 3 | Chemical properties | ||
| Organic carbon (%) | 0.42 | Walkley and Black method124 | |
| Available N (kg ha−1) | 137.9 | Alkaline permanganate method125 | |
| Available P (kg ha−1) | 12.9 | Olsen’s method126 | |
| Available K (kg ha−1) | 302.8 | Flame photometer method124 | |
| pH (1:2.5 soil: water ratio) | 8.0 | Beckman’s pH meter127 | |
| EC (dSm−1) (1:2 soil: water ratio) | 0.46 | Richards128 | |
| 4 | Biological properties | ||
| Soil microbial biomass carbon (µg SMBC g soil−1) | 183.4 | Nunan et al.129 | |
| Dehydrogenase activity (µg TPF g soil−1 day−1) | 28.3 | Casida et al.130 | |
| Alkaline phosphatase activity (µg PNP g soil−1 h−1) | 185.4 | Tabatabai and Bremner131 | |
| Acid phosphatase activity (µg PNP g soil−1 h−1) | 29.2 | Tabatabai and Bremner131 | |