Table 1 Initial soil properties of the experimental field (0–15 cm layer).

Soil Texture

Sandy loam

-

pH (1:2.5 soil and water ratio)

4.87

Piper⁴⁵

Bulk density (Mg m³)

1.52

Blake, & Hartge⁴⁶

Oxidizable SOC (%)

1.49

Walkley and Black⁴⁷

Available N (kg ha⁻¹)

528.9

Subbiah & Asija⁴⁸

Acid extractable available P (kg ha⁻¹)

34.8

Bray & Kurtz⁴⁹

1 N NH4OAc extractable K (kg ha⁻¹)

275.7

Hanway& Heidel⁵⁰

DTPA- extractable Zn  (mg kg⁻¹)

2.45 ⁻¹

Prasad⁵⁸