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CHICORY SEED IN MEADOW

Cichorium intybus L. chicory is a biannual plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. This upright plant is frost resistant and is cultivated in several regions in Europe but is also increasingly present in the United States, India, and Australia. When chicory seed is grown in meadow as forage, the plant remains active for ± 4 years. It represents an investment over several years.

Advantages

 

  • The chicory leaf contains a bitter substance: sesquiterpene lactones. These lactones are present in the leaf at 0.26% dry matter and are recognised for their deworming effect. They reduce parasites, and above all, the amount of eggs (larvae) in the intestines.
  • The chicory leaf grows very well and brings a high nutritional value to the feed diet. The chicory roots are deeper than grass roots and so are able to pump water deeper in the ground, and so the leaves are more resistant to dry periods. The upright shape of the leaves does not obstruct the grass or surrounding plants. Chicory leaves provide better nutritional value.
  • Chicory leaf is better assimilated than ray-grass, and the feed consumption in ruminants can be increased because chicory leaf is well accepted.
  • It contains more varied nutrients than grass and so animal health is better. Thanks to better resistance to worm infection, animals grow better.

Chicory leaves also bring high proportions of:

 

  • unsaturated fatty acids omega-3;
  • a significant mineral content: Fe, Zn, and Ca;
  • high protein content (±20%) together with an interesting amino acid profile: Methionin/Lysine ratio.
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Variety

Industrial chicory seeds, minimum 85% emergence.

Sowing

Sowing periods:

 

  • Spring: late March or April;
  • Autumn: September or early October.

A growing period of 8 weeks must be respected in order to guarantee that the root is well anchored in the soil. It is therefore advisable not to let the animals graze during this period.

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