alley cropping
TRANSCRIPT
UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FAISALABAD
PAKISTAN
Sohail Ilyas
AN AGROFORESTRY PRACTICE
Alley Cropping
Alley Cropping
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Presentation Objectives
Define alley cropping
Describe the benefits
Explain the basic design considerations
Identify potential crops and species
Alley Cropping
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What is Agroforestry?
…the intentional combining of agriculture and working trees to
create sustainable farming systems.
Alley cropping
Forest farming
Alley Cropping
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What is Alley Cropping?
… the planting of trees 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
Alley Cropping
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Alley Cropping is not…..
Corn with two pecans
Alley Cropping
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Why use Alley Cropping?
Improves crop diversity, and economic returns
Increases net carbon storage in the soil and vegetation
Improves utilization and recycling of soil nutrients
Provides or enhances wildlife habitat
Alley Cropping
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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
Alley Cropping
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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
Alley Cropping
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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
Alley Cropping
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Benefits
Stops Soil Erosion
Trees stop soil erosion Control the speed of water Control wind erosion
Alley Cropping
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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
Alley Cropping
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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
Popular Medium High
Pine High Medium-high
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Tree 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
WalnutPecanPinePoplar
Tropical:CoffeeCoconut Palm Papaya
Coffee
Walnut
Pine
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Potential Alley Way Crops
Row/cereal crops (corn, soybeans, milo, wheat)
Forage crops (legumes, grasses)
Specialty crops (vegetables, flowers)
Pecans and hay
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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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Thank You