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Conclusions
Close
to two decades of research
in various parts of
the tropics indicates
greater ecological adaptability
of alley cropping in
regions with fertile
soils (Alfisols, Entisols)
and where water stress
is infrequent or absent.
Farmers have not adopted
alley cropping because
of the additional labor
required, the potential
for fast-growing hedgerow
species to become a
weed, and/or the amount
of arable land that
they perceive to be
giving up in the process
of hedgerow establishment.
For example, in Costa
Rica, fertilizer prices
would have to increase
about six times in order
to balance the extra
labor costs involved
in alley cropping (Szott
et al. 1993).
One
significant advantage
of alley cropping is
the ability of contour-hedgerows
to significantly reduce
soil erosion and thereby
stabilize sloping crop
lands. Hedgerow woody
perennials can also
have multiple uses,
e.g. for stakes, firewood,
or fodder, but the nutrients
exported through the
removal of these products,
as with crop harvest,
need to be balanced
by carefully managed
external inputs.
Introduction
| Definition
| Hedgerow
Species I Species
Selection Criteria
| Soil
Organic Matter &
Nutrients | System
Management | Crop
Yields | Soil
Conservation | Weed
Dynamics | Tree-Crop
Competition | Conclusions
| References
BACK
Funded
by a grant from the
Cornell Agroforestry
Working Group (CAWG)
and the Distance Learning
Program of the Cornell
International Institute
for Food, Agriculture
and Development (CIIFAD).
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