Forage chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial which is suited to be grown on well-drained or moderately drained soils having medium to high fertility and a pH of 5.5 or greater. Chicory has good seedling vigor and a relatively deep taproot which provides tolerance to drought. It provides both spring and summer forage growth for livestock. Unlike most forage crops, it is an herb rather than either a grass or a legume.

Chicory produces leafy growth which, if managed properly, is similar in nutritive value and mineral content to alfalfa or cool-season grasses. It is highly palatable to livestock. New Zealand scientists report that liveweight gains can be as high as those obtained with perennial ryegrass/white clover mixtures. This plant is usually grazed, but can also be used to improve the quality of a silage mixture.

Records indicate that chicory was first introduced into the United States in the late 1700's, and it has since become a common roadside weed in areas north of a line between mid- Virginia and mid-Oklahoma. During the Civil War, ground chicory root was used as a substitute for coffee, and it is still used as a coffee additive in some areas. However, wild or common chicory produces low forage yields.

Though forage chicory is a relatively new forage crop in the United States, it has been used in other countries for more than 300 years. It originated in Central Europe, but much of the breeding for improved forage characteristics has been done in New Zealand. This includes development of the variety 'Puna,' which has recently been widely marketed in the United States.

During the winter, forage chicory is a low-growing rosette plant with broad leaves. At this stage it looks very much like dandelion. With warm temperatures in the spring, it produces large numbers of leaves from the crown. After the establishment year, a few flower stems begin to develop in late spring from the crown and the shoots will reach heights of 6 feet if ungrazed. At this point it resembles curly dock except that it has blue flowers and a different type of seedhead.

• Prepared by Dr. Don Ball, Extension Forage Crop Agronomist, Dept. of Agronomy & Soils, Auburn University, AL 36849

ESTABLISHMENT

Seeding Into A Tilled Seedbed - A moist, firm seedbed is required for forage chicory, or mixtures of chicory and grass, or chicory and legumes. Plot seedings made in both spring and in autumn have been successful in Alabama. In New Zealand it can be successfully established in summer, but this summer planting has not been evaluated in Alabama.

Seed may be either drilled or broadcast. Drilling is preferred because it provides a more uniform depth of planting. Chicory seeds should be planted 0.25- to 0.5-inch deep. Cultipacking the seedbed before and after broadcast seeding (as is recommended for alfalfa) ensures that the seeds have good seed-to-soil contact and are not planted too deeply.

Seeding Into An Existing Pasture - No-till seeding of chicory into existing pastures has been successful in the Northeast. However, proper management is necessary to improve the likelihood of establishment with this method. Suppression of the existing sod to reduce competition in the first step. Seeding early in the spring or using a molluscide bait will reduce the potential damage associated with slug feeding on chicory seedlings.

Seeding rates in mixtures - As with most forages, the optimum seeding rate for chicory varies with seedbed conditions, seeding method, and seed quality. When seeding chicory alone, a rate of 4 to 5 pounds per acre is recommended. For mixtures, 2 to 3 pounds of chicory along with a 2/3 of the usual seeding rate of other forages has been found to be appropriate.

In mixtures which include chicory, a cool season legume is usually included because of its nitrogen fixing capability. Germination of stored seed can decline rapidly, therefore seed should be used promptly and not stored from year to year.

No herbicides are currently registered for use with chicory either during or after establishment. Therefore, it is important to select fields which are expected to have little weed pressure. If weeds do become a problem during establishment, mowing can help suppress them. Chicory regrows rapidly after mowing and can outgrow most weeds.

GRAZING MANAGEMENT

Correct grazing management is essential to maximize the life of the chicory stand (which can be 5 to 7 years) and maintain forage quality. Furthermore, the thick taproot of chicory can be exposed and damaged by overgrazing and/or excessive hoof traffic. Thus, care in grazing management is required for good results.

Spring-seeded chicory can be grazed after 80 to 100 days, depending on climatic conditions. Researchers at the USDA Pasture Laboratory in Pennsylvania found that Puna chicory can yield more than 3 tons per acre during the seeding year (Table 1), but first-year yields will likely be lower in Alabama.

Chicory production is optimized under rotational stocking (rotational grazing) management. Depending on time of year and climatic conditions (and thus the rate of regrowth), a rest period of 25 to 30 days between grazings is best for chicory persistence and performance. A stubble height of 1.5 to 2 inches should remain after grazing or cutting.

Prolonged close and/or frequent grazing or frequent, close harvesting may adversely affect forage mass and early spring growth in subsequent years. On the other hand, when mixtures including chicory are grazed at low stocking densities, Puna chicory will likey be preferentially grazed, which places it at a competitive disadvantage compared with less palatable species. Competitiveness and ultimately stand survival of Puna chicory may be substantially reduced when overgrazing occurs.

Keep Stems From Growing - After the seeding year, chicory grows vigorously and will attempt to produce stems in the late spring and early summer. Stubble heights greater than 1.5 inches, or rest periods longer than 25 days can allow stems to bolt (rapid stem growth).

Once bolting has occurred, the production potential of the plants is reduced for the remainder of the grazing season or until the stems are mowed. Management practices which do not allow the chicory flower stems to exceed a 6 to 10 inch height in late May, and grazing or clipping to a 1.5-inch stubble height will reduce the amount of stem bolting.

To date, little work has been done with chicory in Alabama, but 5 or more harvests or grazedowns should be possible under our usual climatic conditions. When animals are strip grazed on chicory, a back fence (to exclude animals from areas they just grazed) should be used so that regrowth will not be grazed and the stand weakened.

Manage For Quality, Yield, And Animal Performance - Established forage chicory stands have quality potentials and yields comparable to, or better than, most other forage crops. Protein levels range from 10 to 32 percent, depending on plant maturity. Also, the digestibility and the mineral content of chicory leaves reportedly can be as high or higher than those of alfalfa.

The digestibility of chicory leaves is generally between 90 and 95 percent. The flower stems are less digestible than the leaves. This is an additional reason to manage chicory pastures so that stems do not develop fully. Forage yields of 6 tons per acre have been obtained from pure chicory stands in Pennsylvania trials.

Animal performance on forage chicory has been exceptional. In West Virginia trials, forage chicory pastures produced lamb gains of 820 pounds per acre. Studies in New Zealand have reported animal gains of 0.6 pounds per day for lambs and 2 pounds per day for Friesian bulls. Chicory contains relatively high levels of minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, and sodium) which are essential for proper animal nutrition.

FERTILITY

Fertility needs should be determined by soil test, but should be similar to those for orchardgrass. Phosphorus and potassium levels at seeding should be in the moderate to optimum range. Nitrogen fertilizer should be applied at planting at a rate of 35 pounds per acre to stimulate chicory establishment. If chicory is seeded with a legume, the nitrogen application at seeding can be reduced.

Chicory requires a high level of fertility for maximum production. It is also quite responsive to N fertilization. If chicory is grown without a legume, at least 100, and up to 150 pounds of N/acre/year should be provided to an established stand in split applications of 50 pounds per acre. The first should be made in early spring when the chicory becomes green, the second in early summer (optional), and the third in early fall.

Yield responses to N fertilizer rates up to 200 pounds N/acre have been reported. However, as N rate increases so does stem growth. Thus, the yield increase from N fertilization must be weighed against the ability to prevent chicory stems from bolting. If chicory is planted with alfalfa or another legume, annual N applications should be restricted to limit the effect the N has on reducing nitrogen fixation of the legume.

SUMMARY

Forage chicory is a deep-rooted perennial plant which grows best on fertile, well-drained soils. It will provide spring and summer growth which can supplement the grazing season during the traditional "summer slump" of the cool-season forage species. Puna, the most widely advertised variety of forage chicory currently sold in the United States, has performed well in trials in several states (mostly in the Midwest or Northeast, but including in North Georgia where season-long second year yields were over 4 1/2 tons of dry matter per acre). Under a clipping or rotational stocking regime, it has persisted and appeared to make a substantial forage contribution in observational plots and in farm seedings in Alabama. Other commercially available varieties are 'Good Hunt,' and 'Forage Feast.'

At this point we do not have a good understanding of exactly what situations and which areas of the state in which forage chicory has the most potential. However, it is likely that it fits best as a companion species with cool season grasses and/or legumes on well-drained soils in north Alabama. However, forage chicory definitely has some attributes, and innovative producers may find any number of situations in which it fits. Regardless of the manner in which it is used, proper management will be essential to obtain adequate yield, quality, and persistence from this unique forage plant.

NOTE: The information in this publication was obtained from a number of sources, but especially from Agronomy Facts Number 45 titled, "Forage Chicory," by Dr. Marvin H. Hall (Associate Professor of Agronomy) and Dr. Gerald A. Jung (Adjunct Professor of Agronomy), Penn State University.

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