Belesky, D.P. 2000February. Chicory roots out nutrients in soil. Resource 7(2):13.

Excerpts and Modification from article: Chicory is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae that is edible, pale-leafed head used in salads. Documented chicory use in the United States can be traced to the alte 1700s when the plant was introduced to the country as a coffee additive or substitute.

Chicory roots contain large quantities of inulin, a polysaccharide alternative to sucrose, which is low in calories but provides fiber and nutritional value. The root's high carbohydrate concentrations can be used for ethanol production using direct fermentation. When grown under optimal conditions, root dry mass ranges from 9 to 13 tons per acre (10 to 15 metric tons per hectare) with readily fermentable carbohydrate comprising up to half its mass.

The chicory root carbohydrates are used as herbal remedies in some Asian countries to produce hepato-protective pharmaceuticals. The plant was considered a noxious weed in the eastern United States until an improved cultivar called Grasslands Puna, developed in New Zealand for leafiness, was introduced as a forage ressource in Pennsylavania in 1988.

Chicory facts

The chicory plant is tap-rooted, simlar to a carrot, and produces a rosette of basal leaves. It expresses a reproductive stem if the plant is allowed to grow undisturbed. Field-grown chicory has vegetative and reproductive components. The relative proportion of each is affected by canopy management so some plants remain vegetative while others differentiate and flower.

Chicory growth is highest during summer in the eastern United States, providing a resource that can improve available herbage in low-input grazing areas. .....

The benefits

Chicory offers producers a means to improve seasonal distrubtion of available herbage in livestock production. The plant is compatible with commonly grown pasture plants in the Appalachian region and toelrates seasonal weather condition variations.

Mineral nutrient accumuulation by chicory dictates a high level of input to sustain production, especially on soils with marginal fertility status. But the deep-rooted nature of the plant allows a producer to attenuate nutrient movement through the soil profile. Deep rooting is also beneficial to introduce organic matter, via senescing roots, deep in the soil profile, which affects soil quality.

Updated: Tuesday, January 16, 2007.