Given this situation, extensive formal experimentation is not likely to be a
cost-effective route to the development of practical extension recommendations
for specific agroforestry technologies. Rather, the most effective and
strategic uses for long-term agroforestry experiments are in the exploration
of basic processes and interactions, of relevance to a wide range of technologies.
Topics might include the use by crops of nitrogen fixed by leguminous
trees, or the effects of pruning and other management practices on tree
physiology and tree-crop interactions, or the mechanisms by which certain
tree species tolerate extreme waterlogging or drought conditions. Studies
which systematically document the response of particular tree species across
a range of site, establishment, management and intercrop conditions would
also provide essential information for both strategic and adaptive research.