Alley Cropping
AN AGROFORESTRY PRACTICE
This presentation was developed by the USDA National Agroforestry Center
Presentation Objectives
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 Define alley cropping
 Describe the benefits
 Explain the basic design
considerations
 Identify potential crops
and species
Alley Cropping
What is Agroforestry?
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…the intentional combining of
agriculture and working trees to
create sustainable farming systems.
Riparian buffer
Forest farming
Alley cropping
Silvopasture
Windbreaks
Alley Cropping
What is Alley Cropping?
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… 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
Alley Cropping
Alley Cropping is not…..
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Corn with two pecans
Alley Cropping
Why use Alley Cropping?
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 Improves crop or forage quality and quantity by
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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
Alley Cropping
Benefits
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 Improves crop or forage quality and quantity by
enhancing microclimate
Black walnut with hay
Alley Cropping
• 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
Benefits
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 Improve Crop Diversity, and Economic Returns
Elderberry
Alley Cropping
• 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
Taro
row crop and nut or fruit
crops
• Allows crop diversity which
reduces risk
Benefits
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 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
Benefits
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 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
Benefits
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 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
Alley Cropping
Benefits
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 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
Alley Cropping
Benefits
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 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
Alley Cropping - Issues
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 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
Alley Cropping
Coffee under macadamia trees
Design Considerations
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 Light requirement for the crop or forage to be grown
in the alley way
 Root Competition between crops
 Type 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
Alley Cropping
Tree or Shrub Criteria for Alley Cropping
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 Marketable
 Yields annual or periodic commercial product
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(wood, nuts or fruit)
Appropriate shade for the alley crop
Minimal roots at soil surface
Adapted to site and soils
Foliage residue does not interfere with alley crop
Growth requirements complement alley crop
Alley Cropping
Potential Trees
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 Walnut
 Pecan
Pine
 Chestnut
 Pine
 Poplar
Tropical:
 Coffee
 Coconut Palm
 Leucaena
 Eucalyptus
 Papaya
Alley Cropping
Coffee
Walnut
Leucaena
Potential Shrubs
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 Hazelnut/filbert, (nuts)
 Willow, dogwood (decorative florals)
 Chokecherry, highbush cranberry,
currant, elderberry, saskatoon, gooseberry,
sugar apple, pomegranate (fruits)
Willow
Sugar apple
Pomegranate
Alley Cropping
Hazelnut
Saskatoon
Potential Alley Way Crops
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 Row/cereal crops (corn,
soybeans, milo, wheat)
 Forage crops (legumes,
grasses)
 Specialty crops (vegetables,
fruits, flowers, medicinals)
 Biomass (energy,
feedstock)
Biomass alley crop
Alley Cropping
Pecans and hay
For Additional Information
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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 Overstory
http://agroforestry.net/overstory/osprev.html
Alley Cropping
Summary – Alley Cropping
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 Increased crop production
 Enhanced economic diversification
 Improved crop protection
 Better nutrient utilization
 Improved soil and water quality
Lettuce intercrop
followed with pumpkins
Alley Cropping
Coconuts
and beans
Pine and cotton
Acknowledgements
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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.
National
Agroforestry
Center
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A partnership of:
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Alley Cropping