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Inga alley cropping is the planting agricultural crops between rows of Inga trees. It has been promoted by Mike Hands. Using the Inga tree for
alley cropping Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...
has been proposed as an alternative to the much more ecologically destructive slash and burn cultivation.Elkan, Daniel. ''Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
21 April 2004
The technique has been found to increase yields. It is
sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...
as it allows the same plot to be cultivated over and over again thus eliminating the need for burning of the rainforests to get fertile plots.


Inga tree

Inga trees are native to many parts of
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
. Inga grows well on the
acid soils Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...
of the
tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equator ...
and former rainforest. They are leguminous and fix nitrogen into a form usable by plants.rainforestsaver.org
What is Inga alley cropping?
/ref>
Mycorrhiza   A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plan ...
growing within the roots (
arbuscular mycorrhiza An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) (plural ''mycorrhizae'', a.k.a. ''endomycorrhiza'') is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus (''AM fungi'', or AMF) penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. ( ...
) was found to take up spare phosphorus, allowing it to be recycled into the soil.Guinness, Bunny. ''A "miracle cure"''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid ...
5 December 2004
Other benefits of Inga include the fact that it is fast growing with thick leaves which, when left on the ground after pruning, form a thick cover that protects both soil and roots from the sun and heavy rain. It branches out to form a thick canopy so as to cut off light from the weeds below and withstands careful pruning year after year.


History

The technique was first developed and trialled by tropical ecologist Mike Hands in
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
in the late 1980s and early '90s. Research funding from the
EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...
allowed him to experiment with species of Inga. Although alley cropping had been widely researched, it was thought that the tough
pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, an ...
leaves of the Inga tree would not decompose quickly enough. As the crops grow, so does the Inga. When the crops are harvested the Inga is allowed to grow back. Once more it closes the canopy, is pruned, and the cycle is repeated, time and again. Leaves pruned from the tree decompose on the ground releasing
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...
for crops. Fungi take up phosphorus to repeat the cycle. Using this system, not only do the farmers grow their basic crops of
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...
and
beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
, but also
cash crops A cash crop or profit crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") in subsiste ...
. Previously this was not possible because when the plot was a distance from the farmer's home, consistent guarding and tending could be too challenging. Now with the same plot being used continuously, it can be near home, thus allowing an entire family to help to tend and guard it, even when there are young children. The Inga is used as hedges and pruned when large enough to provide a mulch in which bean and corn seeds are planted. This results in both improving
crop yields In agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. The seed ratio is another way of calculating yields. Innovations, such as the use of fertilizer, the c ...
and the retention of
soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.
on the plot that is being farmed. Hands had seen the devastating consequences that are caused by slash and burn agriculture while working in Honduras; this new technique seemed to offer the solution to the environmental and economic problems faced by so many slash and burn farmers. Although this technique has the potential to save rainforest and lift many out of poverty, Inga alley cropping has not yet reached its full potential, although the charity Inga Foundation, headed by Mike Hands, has been consulted about potential projects in
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
( which is almost completely deforested) and the Congo. Discussions have also been mooted about projects in
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
and
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
. Another charity, Rainforest Saver formed to promote Inga Alley Cropping, started a project in 2016 in
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, in the area of the Amazon where Inga edulis originates from, and by the end of 2018 more than 60 farms in the area had Inga plots. Rainforest Saver also started a project in
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
in 2009, where in late 2018 there were around 100 farms with Inga plots, mainly in Western Cameroon.


Method

For Inga alley cropping the trees are planted in rows (hedges) close together, with a gap, the alley, of about 4m between the rows. An initial application of
rock phosphate Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentox ...
has kept the system going for many years. When the trees have grown, usually in about two years, the canopies close over the alley and cut off the light and so smother the
weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
s. The trees are then carefully pruned. The larger branches are used for
firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood ca ...
. The smaller branches and leaves are left on the ground in the alleys. These rot down into a good mulch (
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...
). If any weeds haven't been killed off by lack of light the mulch smothers them. The farmer then pokes holes into the mulch and plants their crops into the holes. The crops grow, fed by the mulch. The crops feed on the lower layers while the latest prunings form a protective layer over the soil and roots, shielding them from both the hot sun and heavy rain. This makes it possible for the roots of both the crops and the trees to stay to a considerable extent in the top layer of soil and the mulch, thus benefiting from the food in the mulch, and escaping soil pests and toxic minerals lower down.
Pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...
the Inga also makes its
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
s die back, thus reducing competition with the crops.


See also

*
Shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cu ...


References

{{Reflist *T.D.Pennignton and E.C.M. Fernandes (editors) "The Genus Inga, Utilization"
Inga species and alley-cropping
by Mike Hands, Kew Publications.


External links


Inga Foundation

Rainforest Saver Foundation (Inga alley cropping projects in Honduras and Cameroon)

Inga alley cropping as an agrometeorogical service to slash and burn cultivation

What is inga alley cropping?
Environmental issues with forests Tropical agriculture Agroforestry