Alley Cropping

AN AGROFORESTRY PRACTICE

Alley Cropping

This presentation was developed by the USDA National Agroforestry Center

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Presentation Objectives

Define alley cropping

Describe the benefits

Explain the basic design considerations

Identify potential crops and species

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What is Agroforestry?

…the intentional combining of agriculture and working trees to

create sustainable farming systems.

Silvopasture

Alley cropping

Windbreaks

Forest farming

Riparian buffer

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What is Alley Cropping?

… the planting of trees or shrubs in two or more sets of single or multiple rows with agronomic, horticultural, or forage crops cultivated in the alleys between the rows of woody plants.

Poplar and wheat

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Alley Cropping is not…..

Corn with two pecans

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Why use Alley Cropping?

Improves crop or forage quality and quantity by enhancing microclimate

Improves crop diversity, and economic returns

Increases net carbon storage in the soil and vegetation

Improves utilization and recycling of soil nutrients

Decreases off site movement of nutrients or chemicals

Provides or enhances wildlife habitat

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Benefits

Improves crop or forage quality and quantity by enhancing microclimate

• Improves the microenvironment to increase crop yields

• Protects alleyway crops from physical damage from winds or from soil particles blown into the plant tissue which bruises or degrades quality Black walnut with

hay

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Benefits

Improve Crop Diversity, and Economic Returns • Allows production of

annual crops for needed cash flow while at the same time growing longer term woody investments.

• Allows two annual crops to be grown on the same acreage such as a forage or row crop and nut or fruit crops

• Allows crop diversity which reduces risk Elderberry

Taro

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Benefits

Increases net carbon storage in the soil and vegetation

• Roots, crop residue, leaves and forage add to soil carbon

• Tree component adds to total potential carbon stored on site through long term sequestration in the above ground and below ground biomass

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Benefits

Improves utilization and recycling of soil nutrients

• Tree roots are generally deeper than crop roots

• Nutrients and chemicals that pass through crop root zone are intercepted by trees

• Nutrients are utilized by the trees and recycled back to the soil surface by leaf drop

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Benefits

Decreases off site movement of nutrients or chemicals - surface

• Trees planted on contour trap sediment and residue along with attached nutrients and chemicals

• Infiltration increases in tree rows decreasing overland flow and associated movement of soluble nutrients and chemicals off site

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Benefits

Decreases off site movement of nutrients or chemicals - subsurface

• Tree roots are generally deeper than crop roots

• Nutrients and chemicals that pass through crop root zone are intercepted by the woody plants

• Nutrients are utilized by the woody plants and recycled back to the soil surface

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Benefits

Provides or enhances wildlife habitat

• Provides food and cover through a diversity of plants

• Creates vertical habitat structure

• Improves pollinator foraging and nesting habitat

• Builds travel corridors for wildlife movement to connect to other food, cover, or water resources

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Alley Cropping - Issues

Involves intensive management

May remove land from annual production, depending on the tree crop

May complicate herbicide application

Requires marketing infrastructure for woody plant products

Coffee under macadamia trees

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Design Considerations

Light requirement for the crop or forage to be grown in the alley way

Root Competition between cropsType and size of the equipment being used

Tree Species

Shade Produced

Root Competition

Black walnut

Low Low

Pecan Medium Medium

Oak High Medium

Pine High Medium-high

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Tree or Shrub Criteria for Alley Cropping

MarketableYields annual or periodic commercial

product (wood, nuts or fruit)Appropriate shade for the alley cropMinimal roots at soil surfaceAdapted to site and soils Foliage residue does not interfere with alley

crop Growth requirements complement alley

crop

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Potential Trees

WalnutPecanChestnut PinePoplar

Tropical:CoffeeCoconut PalmLeucaena EucalyptusPapaya

Coffee

Leucaena

Walnut

Pine

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Potential Shrubs

Hazelnut/filbert, (nuts)Willow, dogwood (decorative florals)Chokecherry, highbush cranberry,

currant, elderberry, saskatoon, gooseberry, sugar apple, pomegranate (fruits)

Hazelnut

Willow

SaskatoonPomegranate

Sugar apple

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Potential Alley Way Crops

Row/cereal crops (corn, soybeans, milo, wheat)

Forage crops (legumes, grasses)

Specialty crops (vegetables, fruits, flowers, medicinals)

Biomass (energy, feedstock)

Pecans and hay

Biomass alley crop

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For Additional Information

Where is there more information on alley cropping?

A number of web sites are available to provide more detailed information on alley cropping systems. Here are a few :

USDA National Agroforestry Center http://www.unl.edu/nac/alleycropping.htm

The Center for Agroforestry http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/practices/ac.php

Association for Temperate Agroforestry http://www.aftaweb.org/alley_cropping.php

The Overstoryhttp://agroforestry.net/overstory/osprev.html

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Summary – Alley Cropping

Increased crop productionEnhanced economic diversificationImproved crop protectionBetter nutrient utilization Improved soil and water quality

Pine and cotton

Lettuce intercrop followed with pumpkins

Coconuts and

beans

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Acknowledgements

This presentation was developed by the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC), Lincoln NE.

NAC is a USDA partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD).  USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer."

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD).  USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer."

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