Surface soil (0–30 cm) was collected from a fallow zone near the
field plots on the Experimental Farm of the CRA–SCA (Consiglio per
la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, Unità di
ricerca per i Sistemi Colturali degli Ambienti caldo-aridi), in Foggia,
Italy (latitude 41270N, longitude 15320E). The soil is a Vertisol of
alluvial origin, and is classified as fine, mesic, typic Haploxerert