Growth rates of ‘grasslands puna’ chicory (cichorium intybus l.) at various cutting intervals and heights and rates of nitrogen

Abstract

Cutting intervals were 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks, nitrogen (N) fertiliser levels 0, 50, and 200 kg N/ha, and cutting heights 0 and 10 cm above groundlevel. The experiment went from 26 October to 21 December 1988 with residual effects measured on 7 February 1989. Total dry matter (DM) yields were 2187, 3262,4869, and 6402 kg/ha for cutting intervals of 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks, and 3029, 3910, and 5684 kg DM/ha for N rates of 0, 50, and 200 kg N ha. N had a greater effect on total yield at 4- and 8-weekly cutting intervals than at shorter intervals. A cutting height of 10 cm gave increased yields at 1-, 2-, and 4-week intervals but less at 8 weeks. Maximum leaf yield was predicted to occur at a cutting interval of 4.9 weeks with yields of 2460, 2667, and 3286 kg DM/ha for 0, 50, and 200 kg N ha. Stem yield was still increasing at 8 weeks. The average N response was 4.1 kg leaf DM/kg N and 6.5 kg stem DM/kg N. Residual regrowth and plant density was decreased on treatments that received 200 kg N/ha on plots cut to ground-level at 1- or 2-weekly intervals. Cutting intervals of 1, 2, or 4 weeks at 10 cm cutting height or 4-weekly intervals cut at ground-level with either 0 or 50 kg N/ha should meet criteria of high leaf DM yields and satisfactory residual regrowth or plant density. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.