Alley Cropping
Alley cropping, also known as intercropping is an agroforestry system where rows of crops are cultivated alongside rows of trees. Trees are planted in row and the alleyways in between the rows of trees serves as a bed for the agricultural crop. Any type of horticultural and agricultural crops can be grown in this manner. Crops that are sown in the fall make full use of the available full light that is provided because the deciduous trees have gone dormant.
A fine example of alley cropping is planting crops such as corn, hay, soybeans, or wheat in the alleyway, and pecan or black walnut trees in the rows between. The sustainable farming practice of alley cropping can expand farm income as well as increase the production of crops. The conservation benefits are yet one more reason alley cropping is gaining popularity. The wildlife is abundant in the habitat areas that are created when alley cropping is the farming method employed.
When selecting species of trees to line your rows consider timber or fuel wood trees. Nut and fruit trees are a good choice as well as apple and plum trees work quite nicely. Coppiced trees and pollard trees are possibilities, with pollard trees causing the least amount of interference with crops. In the United States, hardwoods such as ash, oak, pecan, and walnut are the preferred species of tree as they are high in value as lumber.
Alley cropping is both a visually appealing and economical method of farming that utilizes farmland for short-term income as well as long-term. Traditional crops as well as alternative crops such as medicinal herbs and sunflowers can be grown with this process. Alley cropping is also a way to protect from soil erosion as the trees produce a network of roots that hold the soil. Fallen leaves provide ground cover and nutrients to the crop as well.
It is important to be aware of the limitation of alley cropping as to ensure your success. It is necessary to be knowledgeable in the technical and managerial skills of growing more than one crop at a time in the same area. Choosing the right types of crops and trees is likewise important, as the wrong type of trees can become an obstacle to harvesting the crops if they grow too large. Trees can also compete with the crops for nutrients, sun, and water, and if you utilize herbicides on your crops, it can potentially damage your trees.
Considerations of the farmland must be carefully incorporated into an alley cropping plan. Adequate spacing of tree rows will ensure many years of crop growth in the alleys in between. Deciding how to orient your rows of trees is another critical factor. East to west orientations are best, as that will allow the most sunlight to shine upon the alley crop, but thought must be given to the topography of the land, soil erosion potential, and prevailing winds.
Either the rows of trees can be of single or mixed species and can be planted in single or multiple row sets. An advantage to single species planting is that it is easiest to plant, but mixing species of trees that grow at roughly the same rate can provide environmental as well as economic diversity. Likewise, with multiple rows of trees, pruning needs will be less, but single rows take up the least amount of space.