A two-year alley-cropping study that paired bell peppers with American elderberry shrubs could help farmers improve resilience, diversify income, and make better midseason production decisions, with mature systems showing estimated peak revenue of approximately $12,500 per acre, according to new peer-reviewed research from Kentucky State University.
The primary study, “Performance of an Elderberry–Bell Pepper Agroforestry System in the Southeastern US and Insights for Farm Decision-Making,” was published in the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment. Led by Santosh Paudel, research assistant in Kentucky State’s College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, the study was co-authored by Dr. Anuj Chiluwal, Dr. Srijana Thapa Magar, Dr. Theoneste Nzaramyimana, and Dr. Suraj Upadhaya, along with graduate student Sudha Bhandari. The authors are affiliated with the University’s Integrative Human-Environment Dynamics Lab.
The work belongs to a broader body of Kentucky State agroforestry scholarship that also includes two related publications by Dr. Upadhaya, Research Assistant Paudel, and graduate student Bhandari: “Agroforestry for Pollinator Support and Food Security,” published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, and “Socio-Economic and Environmental Benefits of Agroforestry and Its Multilevel Barriers to Adoption,” published in Sustainability.
Together, the publications examine how diversified farming systems can support crop production, pollinator health, soil protection, and economic resilience while identifying practical barriers that may limit producer adoption.
Source : kysu.edu