TABLE 1.
Physico-chemical and biological properties of the soil at the start of experiment.
| Particulars | Values | Methods followed | |
| I | Mechanical analysis | ||
| 1. Sand (%) | 64.90 | Hydrometer method (Bouyoucos, 1962) | |
| 2. Silt (%) | 21.03 | ||
| 3. Clay (%) | 14.07 | ||
| Textural class | Sandy- loam | ||
| II | Physical Properties | ||
| 1. Bulk density (Mg m–3) | 1.57 | Veihmeyer and Hendrickson (1948) | |
| III | Chemical properties | ||
| Soil organic carbon (%) | 0.42 | Walkley and Black method (Jackson, 1973) | |
| Available N (kg ha–1) | 137.9 | Alkaline permanganate method (Subbiah and Asija, 1956) | |
| Available P (kg ha–1) | 12.9 | Olsen’s method (Olsen et al., 1954) | |
| Available K (kg ha–1) | 302.8 | Flame photometer method (Jackson, 1973) | |
| pH (1/2.5 soil: water ratio) | 8.0 | Beckman’s pH meter (Piper, 1965) | |
| EC (dSm–1) (1/2 soil: water ratio) | 0.46 | Richards (1954) | |
| IV | Biological properties | ||
| Soil microbial biomass carbon (μg SMBC g soil–1) | 183.36 | Nunan et al. (1998) | |
| Dehydrogenase activity (μg TPF g soil–1 day–1) | 28.33 | Casida et al. (1964) | |
| Alkaline phosphatase activity (μg PNP g soil–1 hr–1) | 185.35 | Tabatabai and Bremner (1969) | |
| Acid phosphatase activity (μg PNP g soil–1 hr–1) | 29.21 | Tabatabai and Bremner (1970) | |
| Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (cfu 104/g of dry soil) | 12.92 | Dilution plate technique (Pikovskaya, 1948) | |