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Agroforestry Overview |
Alley Cropping Produces Two Crops in the Space of One
What is it?Alley cropping is the cultivation of food, forage or specialty crops between rows of trees. It is a larger version of intercropping or companion planting conducted over a longer time scale. Alley cropping can provide profitable opportunities for row crop farmers, hardwood timber growers, nut growers and Christmas tree growers. Benefits: Alley cropping benefits both humans and the environmentIncome diversification. Crop production during the years before nut trees come into bearing or hardwood timber is harvested creates cash flow and diversifies farm income, thereby improving the return on long-term investments in trees. Marginal land improvement. By planting rows of nut or timber trees on land where annual crop production is low due to erosion or other limitations, marginal croplands may be converted to higher value woodlands. Alley cropping enterprises:Forage crops can be cultivated between tree rows for harvest or livestock grazing, or shrubs palatable to livestock can be grown for fodder, e.g. tagasaste. Possible alley crops also include specialty crops, e.g. herbal or medicinal, perennials such as conifers for Christmas trees, and even nursery stock, e.g. using the Pot-in-Pot system. Combine specialty crops with conventional field crops: Another alternative is to plant rows of perennial specialty crops within a field of tall field crops such as corn to diversify income while maintaining annual crop production. Landowner assistance programs:Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). For information: www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crpinfo.htm. Articles about alley cropping from the Temperate AgroforesterNursery Tests New System to Combine Ornamental Plant Production with Forestry An Economic Analysis of Black Walnut Alley Cropping in Nebraska Alley Cropping with Hybrid Poplar May Profit UK Farmers Intercropping Black Walnut in Oregon's Willamette Valley Sources of information about alley cropping:University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry: http://agebb.missouri.edu/umca/ Dr. Scott Josiah, University of Nebraska ( sjosiah2@unl.edu) |
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