Abstract
Chicory is considered one of the alternatives crops that can be used in crop rotation and contains many phytochemicals that can be used in medicine. In addition, lengthening the growing season by early sowing may increase root chicory yield potential, and thus increase its competitiveness with traditional crops. The objectives of the present study were to determine whether early sowing date risks can be decreased by higher sowing density and also to study the effect of sowing date and sowing density on dry matter accumulation and partitioning of chicory. Growing season did not affect any of the characteristics that were studied. Also plant density affected the flowers biomass, root biomass per plant and the respective yield together with the plant height and essence yield and total yield. The sowing date affected the leaf, flower and stem biomass on a plant basis. However, the interaction between plant density and sowing date affected the total biomass per plant, the flower biomass per plant, the root biomass per plant, the flower yield, the root yield and the essence yield. These results indicate that for higher production it is important to determine the right plant density and sowing date which can affect growth, dry matter accumulation and essence yield.
Highlights
Cultivation of chicory (Cichorium intybus) plants for the extraction of various phytochemicals and a number of pharmacological applications has received global attention in recent years (Bias and Ravishankar, 2001; Quanzhen and Jian, 2011)
Sowing in many cases is preferred as it has the potential to increase considerably yield especially in Mediterranean climates but can enhance the risk of bolting (Baert, 1997)
LSD 145 69 22.2 37.7 283 0.06 date and plant density was not determined before and this study provides some new insights of this interaction and points out the need for careful management practices that can affect yield, biomass accumulation and partitioning and quality
Summary
Cultivation of chicory (Cichorium intybus) plants for the extraction of various phytochemicals and a number of pharmacological applications has received global attention in recent years (Bias and Ravishankar, 2001; Quanzhen and Jian, 2011). When raised for roots, chicory requires a hot and humid climate; when raised for seeds, the crop is grown in regions with dry temperate climate (Bias and Ravishankar, 2001; Quanzhen and Jian, 2011). The seed for raising roots is sown in June in temperate climates and roots are ready by November. After over wintering for 3-4 months at 3-8°C, the roots can be replanted in March-April for the seed crop. In hot and humid climates is sown in October-November (Bias and Ravishankar, 2001)
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