Pruning tree roots in alley cropping systems (ACS) could reduce underground competition and thus increase crop productivity. However, these management operations impose a stress on the trees, increase production costs and given the complexity of ACS; they may not lead to an increase in crop yield. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure the impact of root pruning in a Mediterranean ACS on soil water content and on the yield of two varieties each of barley and durum wheat. To achieve this, an experiment with three different treatments was conducted: monocrop (MC), and two 23-year-old hybrid walnut ACS, with (ACS_RP +) and without (ACS_RP−) root pruning. In each system, grain yield and yield components were measured and the microclimate and soil water content were recorded during the growing season. The ACS had lower incident radiation in the understory than MC and this radiation was unevenly distributed along the alley. Besides, ACS had lower air temperature during the day and higher at night in comparison with MC. Also, soil water content was higher in ACS than in MC. Within ACS, the soil water content was similar until the tree budburst but thereafter lower in ACS_RP−. The grain yield of both cereals was lower in ACS than in MC. Among the ACS there were no differences in grain yield or in any yield component for both cereals. From the above, it can be concluded that, under the conditions presented in the study, the root pruning increased the water available for the crops, but this did not increase crop yield. It is inferred that the main limiting factor for grain yield in the studied ACS was other than soil water.

在胡同种植系统 (ACS) 中修剪树根可以减少地下竞争，从而提高作物生产力。然而，考虑到 ACS 的复杂性，这些管理操作会给树木带来压力，增加生产成本；它们可能不会导致作物产量增加。因此，本研究的目的是测量地中海 ACS 中根系修剪对土壤含水量和大麦和硬粒小麦两个品种产量的影响。为了实现这一目标，进行了三种不同处理的实验：单一作物 (MC) 和两个 23 岁的杂交胡桃 ACS，使用 (ACS_RP +) 和不进行 (ACS_RP-) 根部修剪。在每个系统中，测量了谷物产量和产量成分，并在生长季节记录了小气候和土壤含水量。ACS 在林下的入射辐射比 MC 低，而且这种辐射沿小巷分布不均。此外，与 MC 相比，ACS 白天气温较低，夜间气温较高。此外，ACS 的土壤含水量高于 MC。在 ACS 内，土壤含水量在树木发芽前是相似的，但此后在 ACS_RP- 中较低。ACS 中两种谷物的产量均低于 MC。在 ACS 中，两种谷物的谷物产量或任何产量成分都没有差异。综上所述，可以得出结论，在研究提出的条件下，根部修剪增加了作物可利用的水分，但这并没有增加作物产量。据推测，在所研究的 ACS 中，粮食产量的主要限制因素不是土壤水分。