Alley farming or alley cropping is a good option for hilly areas or sloppy areas as agroforestry practices. Annual crops and trees can co-exist in a single land. It is involving planting rows of different types of trees in plots with annual or seasonal crops cultivated in between the rows. what’s more, nitrogen-fixing leguminous shrubs can be grown with cereals. These trees improve soil conditions and thrive in nitrogen-deficient soils, where poor growth is observed by other crops. In addition, a good benefit of agroforestry is to maintain soil fertility, there is no longer a need for obligatory fallow periods of farming lands.
Alley cropping example
Quickstick or simply Gliricidia ( Scientific name: Gliricidia sepium) is a nitrogen-fixing plant that can be grown with maize in a single land. For this purpose, two rows of Gliricidia and 4-6 rows of maize should be used. Besides, the practice is mostly found in humid and sub-humid tropical areas.
Purposes of agroforestry alley farming
- Increasing crop yields
- Improvement of the soil
- Improvement of microclimate environment
- Helping weed control
- Sourcing of fodder
- Lastly, controlling soil erosion
Moreover, Alley crops are solving the livelihood problems of people who face soil fertility problems for producing more crops and getting good yields. This agroforestry practice will help nearby farms to use land year-round and need not keep the lands fallow.
Agroforestry examples -An ideal alley-farming Characteristics
• Firstly, sunlight penetration through light open crown trees;
• Withstand pruning, coppicing, or pollarding and re-sprout quickly ;
• Source of fodder, fruits, poles, wood, medicines, and other products;
• Works as green manure for crops;
• High above-ground leaf biomass production;
• Deep tap roots and little or no competition with crops for soil nutrients.
• Contains no allelopathic chemicals in leaves, shoots, and roots;
• Lastly, act as a repellent of pests and other diseases;
Finally, the selection of trees and crops should be done by considering the above points while converting land into alley farming.
