Tree nut alley cropping in Missouri: opportunities across production scales

Authors: WEBBER, JOHN - University Of Missouri; MEIER, NICHOLAS - University Of Missouri; REVORD, RONALD - University Of Missouri

Submitted to: Agroforestry Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/27/2026
Publication Date: 5/26/2026
Citation: Webber, J.B., Meier, N.A., Revord, R.S. 2026. Tree nut alley cropping in Missouri: opportunities across production scales. Agroforestry Systems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-026-01526-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-026-01526-3

Interpretive Summary: Agroforestry is a land-use system that integrates woody vegetation into agricultural landscapes in ways that create multiple vertical production layers and enable perennial components to complement annual crops or livestock systems (Jose 2009; Nair 1993; Pantera et al., 2018). Agroforestry practices give producers many options of trees, crops, and management combinations to maximize productivity and land stewardship. The central hypothesis of agroforestry as argued by Cannell et al., in the late 90 s, states that the yield benefits of agroforestry systems are most apparent when resources are used in a complementary way by trees and the adjacent crops (Cannell et al. 1996). After many years of observations, a large body of literature supports this hypothesis that the benefits of complementary resource use can outweigh the disadvantages of resource competition in agroforestry systems (Beule et al., 2022). Review of the literature and long-term field experiments have demonstrated that niche differentiation in light, water, and nutrient uptake is a primary driver of these productivity gains (Cardinael et al. 2015; Jose 2009; von Felten et al. 2009). Agroforestry practices like alley cropping can provide several potential advantages such as (1) higher overall productivity, (2) better control of pests and diseases, (3) enhanced ecological services and (4) greater economic profitability (Lovell et al. 2018; Torralba et al. 2016; Wolz and DeLucia 2018).

Technical Abstract: Missouri has strong potential for expanded tree nut agroforestry, particularly in regions where perennial systems could improve land-use efficiency, reduce erosion risk, and diversify farm income. Alley cropping offers a flexible framework for integrating tree nuts into existing agricultural systems without displacing current enterprises, thereby helping to defray establishment costs and reduce barriers to perennial transition. In Missouri, these opportunities span multiple scales of production, from large-scale row crop systems to small- and medium-scale specialty crop operations. In this perspective, we examine how tree nut alley cropping can be adapted to these different contexts and argue that greater terminological resolution may improve communication, outreach, and research in the United States. Specifically, we propose the terms silvocropping and silvohorticulture to distinguish alley cropping systems that integrate trees with row crops at larger scales from those that integrate trees with intensively managed specialty crops at smaller scales in a temperate growing region. Using Missouri as a representative temperate region for agroforestry adoption, demonstration, and research, we discuss opportunities for hazelnut based systems; conceptual linkages among complementary resource use, land equivalent ratio (LER), and adoption barriers; and the need for research and technical assistance that account for differences in production scale, species composition, and system development over time. Tree nut alley cropping represents an underused opportunity to advance resilient, multifunctional agriculture in temperate regions of the United States.