This factsheet is intended for farmers and advisers. There are many important choices to make when designing agroforestry systems and the planting pattern is one of them. There are thousands of options and choosing the right layout will have a huge impact on the yield and quality of the field crops, trees and livestock in addition to the ease of management. The key choices for the tree planting pattern regard the: tree spacing, tree species and cultivar spatial diversity, tree row orientation and planting shape. Each of these four choices affects a multitude of factors including; tree-crop interactions, yield, mechanisation, labour, pollination and biodiversity. In this factsheet, we will discuss these key choices so that more informed decisions can be made regarding the most suitable choice for a farm.
