Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #35376
Title: PERFORMANCE OF 'GRASSLANDS PUNA' CHICORY AT DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT LEVELS

Author
item JUNG, GERALD - USDA-ARS (RETIRED)
item Shaffer, John
item VARGA, GABRIELLA - PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
item Everhart, John

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/8/1994
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Chicory is a perennial plant that was brought to the US from the Netherlands circa 1785, so dried, ground roots could be used as a coffee substitute or adulterant. A New Zealand plant breeder developed a variety of chicory for forage purposes and released the variety, Puna, in 1984. We evaluated Puna chicory in Pennsylvania and West Virginia since 1988. Our trials show that Puna chicory produced herbage that was highly palatable t lactating dairy cows. Lamb liveweight gain per acre on chicory pasture was more than twice that usually obtained on grass-clover pasture in West Virginia. In a 3-year clipping trial in central Pennsylvania, Puna chicory produced well with 3 to 7 harvests per growing season, but leaf yields were higher with frequent harvests. Nutritional value of chicory herbage was better than that of grass herbage in many respects. These results show excellent pasture or silage potential for Puna chicory in the Northeast.

Technical Abstract: 'Grasslands Puna' chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) was selected for improved agronomic characters in New Zealand and certified in 1984. Puna is a perennial tap-rooted herb that shows potential to produce high yields of palatable forage. Research was conducted with Puna chicory and 'Pennlate' orchardgrass, Dactylis glomerata L., at Rock Springs, PA, to determine harvest frequency effects on herbage production and quality, and stand persistence. Harvesting both species in spring and summer when chicory canopies reached 25-, 37- or 50-cm resulted in seven, five, or four harvests in 1992 and six, four, or three harvests in 1993. Total yields in 1992 averaged 9.5 Mg ha-1 for chicory and 7.9 Mg ha-1 for orchardgrass, and harvest frequency did not affect total yield of either species. In 1993, mean total yields were 9.2 Mg ha-1 for chicory and 7.9 Mg ha-1 for orchardgrass. Yields of both species in 1993 were greater when harvests were taken at the 50-cm canopy height than at the 25-cm canopy height, and yields for the 37-cm canopy height were not different from either the 50- or 25-cm canopy height. Mean crude protein was 200 g kg-1 for chicory and 185 g kg-1 for orchardgrass. Chicory herbage had high concentrations of mineral elements Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Cu, and Zn, relative to those usually found in grass. Initial results show excellent pasture or silage potential for Puna in the Northeast.