In order to overcome the difficulty in sterilising soils without affecting the nature and quantity of humic components in it, the Arnold method of sterilisation has been tried. Humic substances from the sterilised soil samples were compared with their corresponding counterparts from the non-sterilised samples. The data reveal that this method of sterilisation does not affect the humic components present in the soil. © 1982 Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk Publishers.