TY - CONF A1 - Mirck, Jaconette A1 - Kanzler, Michael A1 - Böhm, Christian A1 - Freese, Dirk A2 - Wilcox, Andrew A2 - Vinall, Samantha T1 - Sugar beet yields in an alley cropping system during a dry summer T2 - Social and technological transformation of farming systems: Diverging and converging pathways, 12th European IFSA Symposium, Newport, 12-15 July 2016, Book of Abstracts N2 - Agroforestry (the integration of trees with crop and/or livestock production) offers a pathway to diversify agricultural production. Agroforestry systems have the potential to improve on-farm use of water through enhanced soil water holding capacities, the provision of shade, and the creation of wind shelter. These three characteristics can also improve the resilience of agricultural production in response to changing weather patterns. The objectives of this study were: 1) to measure how alley cropping systems with varying alley widths affect crop microclimate, 2) to measure the effects of this microclimate on sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) yields, and 3) to assess how moisture availability affects sugar beet growth patterns. Measurements were made in a 70 ha alley cropping system comprising black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and hybrid poplar Max1 (Populus suaveolens subsp. maximowiczii x P. nigra). A sugar beet crop was grown during the relatively dry growing season of 2015. Sugar beet yields were reduced in close proximity to the hedgerow, but yields were higher at and beyond an intermediate distance when compared with those in a nearby conventional agricultural field. Moisture availability significantly affected growth patterns of sugar beet roots. Y1 - 2017 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-UBICO/frontdoor/index/index/docId/18409 UR - http://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/events/ifsa-conference/papers/3/3.3%20Mirck.pdf SP - 80 EP - 82 PB - Harper Adams University CY - Newport, Shropshire ER -