Ants were baited with milled rice that was sieved into five particle sizes: < 0.2, 0.2-0.5, 0.5-0.8, 0.8-1.5 and 1.5-2.5 mm.
The residue was rinsed and sieved again through a 10 m mesh.
Soil was first sieved and large particulate organic matter was eliminated by hand.
The 1 kg samples of dung and manure were sieved coarsely (75 mm and 25 mm mesh) with water, to reduce sample bulk.
Ferrallitic forest soil (top soil: 10-15 cm deep) was collected on the same site and sieved through a 1-cm screen.
Soils were dried, sieved and mixed within each category to create inocula.
The air-dried samples were sieved through a 150-mesh.
Thereafter, they were washed and sieved through a 0.5 cm-wide mesh to retain the coarse fraction.
