A new annual forage chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) from Sardinia.

Since ancient times Cichorium intybus L., well known to Egyptians, Phoenicians and Jews, has been utilised as vegetable and for its medicinal properties. In the last two centuries it was widely grown in Europe and the roots were used as additive or substitute for coffee. Vegetable commercial varieties have remarkable economic importance. In spite of its natural distribution in many countries forage chicory is a relatively new crop. In fact, much of the breeding for improved forage characteristics has been done in New Zealand, where the first variety Puna has been developed. In Sardinia, chicory is a spontaneous component of pasturelands, crops and uncultivated land. Seed of wild chicory plants, growing as weeds in forage legume crops, after seed harvesting and cleaning has been occasionally used as a component of forage mixtures. Considering the interesting characteristics of forage chicory, to evaluate the possibility of its use under rainfed Sardinian conditions, a research was started in Sardinia by the CNR-ISPAAM. A promising Sardinian forage chicory has been identified and its main agronomic traits (i.e. adaptation capacity, herbage growth rates, forage production and quality) are presented in this paper.