Herbage production and persistence of Puna chicory (Cichorium intybusL.) under grazing management over 4 years

Abstract

Three grazing experiments were conducted at the Pasture and Crop Research Unit (PCRU) and Deer Research Unit (DRU), Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, from November 1993 to January 1996. Experiments 1 and 3 examined effects of grazing frequency and grazing intensity on the herbage production and persistence on year 1 and year 4 chicory stands, respectively. In Experiment 2, the plant density and plant size (shoots/plant) were monitored over 3 years starting from the second growing season. Results showed that year 1 and year 2 chicory accumulated 8460 + 668 and 9360 ± 640 kg DM/ha over 6 months, which was double that of year 4 chicory (4590 ± 343 kg DM/ha). The average plant densities for year 1 and year 2 chicory were 66 ± 2.1 and 68 ± 4.0 plants/m², respectively, significantly higher than those for year 3 and year 4 chicory of 49 ± 0.6 and 24 ± 1.3 plants/m², respectively. However, plant size increased from 2.9 ± 0.04 and 2.7 ± 0.15 shoots/plant for the first 2 years to 4.1 ±0.15 and 6.7 ± 0.21 shoots/plant in year 3 and year 4, respectively. It was concluded that the characteristics of a grazed chicory crop that had deteriorated to the point of not being able to produce half of its maximum herbage mass were 25 plants/m², six or more shoots/plant, or less than 150 shoots/m². The implications for chicory grazing management are also discussed.