experiment are given in Table 1.
Before and after each growing season, soil samples from each
sub-plot were collected from the upper horizon (0e30 cm) and
were analyzed for physical and chemical properties using standard
procedures (Burt, 2004). For the analysis of heavy metals,
soil was extracted by aqua regia at 160 C, and concentrations in
the digests were determined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer
(ICP-OES, Perkin- Elmer OPTIMA-2000, USA). Total
nitrogen was determined using standard Kjeldahl apparatus
and phosphorous calorimetrically. Available K was determined in
1 N ammonium acetate extract using flame photometer. Organic
carbon was measured using Walkley and Black (1934) method
and converted to organic matter by multiplying with a factor of
1.72. The average soil pH was found to be 7.37 during pre-sowing
in 2013 and 7.61 after post-harvest in 2015, whereas average ECe
was 1.54 and 1.90 dS m1 for the same period. The chemical
characteristics of the soil (Pre and post treatment) are reported in
Table 2.