alley crop

present singular third person alley crops · participle present alley cropping · participle past alley cropped · past alley cropped

1. transitiveTo plant non-woody crops between rows of nut, fruit, timber, or fodder trees.

   You can alley crop with brambles, blueberries, fruit or nuts.

   1995, The New Farm - Volume 17, Issues 1-4, page 28

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   First stop for our entourage of two buses and three cars is a technical school where the headmaster has directed his students to alley crop a small field of Leucaena and cowpeas.

   1990, Thomas A. Bass, Camping with the Prince and Other Tales of Science in Africa, page 136

   Shepherd will continue to alley crop corn and hay in between the tree rows until the trees become too large and shade out the crops.

   1996, Inside Agroforestry, page 4

plural alley crops

1. A crop that is cultivated in this manner.

   Alley crops are generally the 'hedge crop' or creeper which is clipped after some days, or some flower plants.

   2017, N.R. Das, Practical Manual on Basic Agronomy

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   Through the improved management of alley crops and fallow, it should be possible to increase crop yields in ShC systems and at the same time decrease the adverse environmental impacts of these systems.

   1998, Amelie Berger, Twice Humanity

   On these nutrient-poor and acid soils, root competition for nutrients between crops and trees can be very intense, resulting in poor growth of the alley crops, especially of plants growing near the hedgerows.

   1999, B. T. Kang, A. N. Atta-krah, L. Reynolds, Alley Farming, page 60