Nutritional qualities, chemical compositions, and yield of chicory genotypes

Abstract

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) has been used as a forage crop in some parts of the world. Forage chicory is a highly digestible, nonbloating feed source which is characterized by high nutritive and mineral contents. However, limited information is available on nutritional qualities, chemical compositions, and yield of different genotypes of chicory. Therefore, a 2‐yr study was conducted to evaluate the qualitative traits and forage yield of chicory genotypes. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications using eight chicory genotypes (‘Ardestan,’ ‘Hamadan,’ ‘Shiraz,’ ‘Mazandaran,’ ‘Sanandaj,’ ‘Kashan,’ ‘Yazd,’ and ‘Mashhad’). The crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ash content (ASH), non‐fibrous carbohydrates (NFC), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and dry herbage yield (DHY) were significantly influenced by genotypes. Yazd was the superior chicory genotype compared to tested genotypes in terms of high CP, ASH, NFC, N, K, Cu, and Zn and low NDF and ADF contents, while Sanandaj showed the highest forage yield. Our results indicate that chicory can be considered as a promising forage crop in a semi‐arid environment and also allows for the selection of better genotype for direct cultivation or breeding purpose.