New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture

ISSN: 0301-5521 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tnzc19

Chicory: An investigation of production for witloof

in the Waikato, New Zealand

J. T. K. Poll & J. A. Douglas

To cite this article: J. T. K. Poll & J. A. Douglas (1987) Chicory: An investigation of production for
witloof in the Waikato, New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 15:1, 61-65,
DOI: 10.1080/03015521.1987.10425537

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03015521.1987.10425537

Published online: 12 Jan 2012.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 207

View related articles

Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tnzc20
New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 1987, Vol. 15 : 61-65
0301-5521/87/1501-0061$2.50/0 © Crown copyright 1987
Chicory: an investigation of production for witloof
in the Waikato, New Zealand
1. T. K. POLL l
1. A. DOUGLAS
Ruakura Soil and Plant Research Station, MAF
Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
Abstract In 2 field trials in the Waikato, 15
chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) cultivars were
compared for root production, and subsequent
witloof production under 2 forcing conditions. The
chicory grew well with few diseases and no bolting,
although some difficulties were experienced with
late season weed control. Chicory root production
of 15 -49 tlha was similar to overseas yields.
Although roots were successfully grown to a
suitable size for witIoof forcing, subsequent witIoof
production was low, apparently because of the lack
of environmental control of the forcing conditions
rather than poor field preparation of chicory roots.
Subsequent work with more sophisticated forcing
conditions has shown witloof production to be
practicable in the Waikato.
Keywords chicory; Cichorium intybus; root
yields; witloof production
INTRODUCTION
Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial herb
of the family Asteraceae (Compositae) and closely
related to endive and lettuce. The vegetable witIoof
is the blanched, etiolated, regrowth shoot known
as a chicon, forced from the chicory root under
controlled temperature conditions in the dark
(Ryder 1979). WitIoof has been grown in a limited
way for some time in New Zealand (Crowder 1965)
but in recent years the possibility of growing it for
export has been investigated. Information from a
small export shipment in 1978 together with an
assessment of overseas market prices, suggested
that witIoof had some potential.
Field production of chicory in Europe has been
IPresent address: Delta 34, 8224 EM Lelystad, the
Netherlands.
Received 11 November 1985; revision 17 July 1986
61
well described (Buishand & Koomen 1970; Nicolai
1977; Timmerman 1980). Roots are grown to an
optimum diameter of 3 - 5 cm (Nicolai 1977;
Bomme & Lechl 1981) and, by low temperature
storage, put in a suitable physiological state for
forcing (Huyskes 1960, 1962). There is an optimum
pre-conditioning time in cold storage for the best
witIoof production because prolonged storage leads
to changes in the carbohydrate form with
consequent reduced quality (Rutherford & Phillips
1975; Rutherford 1977; Fiala & 101ivet 1980). In
the past, witloof was forced outdoors from roots
set in trenches and covered with soil (Timmerman
1980). However, newer cultivars can be forced in
dark, insulated sheds without covering the roots in
soil (Huyskes 1961), or by using hydroponics (Vente
& Hamersma 1978).
No information was available on the production
of chicory and witIoof in New Zealand and, hence,
a programme was begun in 1979 to evaluate several
chicory cultivars, and to establish a system for
witIoof production.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Fifteen chicory cultivars (14 from the Netherlands
and 1 from France) were evaluated in 2 trials con-
ducted in 1979 - 80 and 1980 - 81, using pelleted
seed imported from the Netherlands. The cultivars
covered a range of maturity ratings and were
suitable for forcing with or without a soil (sand)
covering (Table 1).
The trials were sown in Rukuhia Horticultural
Research Area on Horotiu sandy loam using a
randomised block design with 4 replicates. Weed
control - using propyzamide (3 kg active ingredient
(a.i.)/ha) applied pre-emergence, and chlorprofam (3
litres/ha) applied post-emergence - was short-lived,
and additional control from hand weeding was
necessary in both years.
1979-80
Pelleted seed was sown on 9 November by cone
seeder at 350 000 seeds/ha in 38-cm rows in plots
1.02 x 5 m. Early and early - mid season cultivars
were harvested on 1 May and the mid and late
62 New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 1987, Vol. 15

Table 1 Chicory cultivars used in trials.

Cultivar Maturity rating Type Source

Primo Very early Soil Royal Sluis Netherlands

Primosa Very early No soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Secunda Early Soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Prezo Early No soil Ryk Zwaan Netherlands
Secosa Early No soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Tertio Early /medium/late Soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Terosa Early/medium/late No soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Midzo Medium Soil Ryk Zwaan Netherlands
Zoom Fl Medium/late Soil/ no soil INRA France
Norvita Medium/late Soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Super export Medium Soil A. Zwaan Jr Netherlands
Kwarto Late Soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Kwarosa Late No soil Royal Sluis Netherlands
Trilof Late Soil/no soil A. Zwaan Jr Netherlands
Mivrola Late No soil Zwaan Netherlands

season cultivars on 5 June. The plants were lifted by
hand and, after recording total weight, the roots were
trimmed to leave 3 cm of leaf and 20 cm of root. The
roots were counted, weighed, and graded into 4 dia-
meter sizes « 2, 2-4, 4-6, and> 6 cm), and stored
in a coolroom at 5°C for 6 days before forcing.
1980-81
Pelleted seed was sown on 11 December by Stanhay
precision seeder at 400 000 seeds/ha in 40 cm rows
in plots 1.2 x 6 m. In March, the trial was
accidentally grazed with sheep; ammonium
sulphate (100 kg/ha) and potassium chloride (125
kg/ha) were applied to stimulate regrowth.
Harvesting of the roots took place on 23 April and
27 May depending upon the maturity rating of the
cultivars, using similar methods to the first trial,
except that, before forcing, the roots were stored
for 14 days at 5°C.
In both trials the roots were forced with or without
sand covering depending upon the cultivar
requirement. Roots of sand-covered cultivars were
placed in outdoor trenches and sprayed with
iprodione (8 g a.i.lm2) to give protection against
Sclerotinia root rot. Soil was washed between the
roots and covered 20 cm deep with moist, coarse
sand. This was sealed with black polythene. The
roots forced without sand covering were closely
packed upright in 0.2 m deep wooden boxes (0.75
x 1 m) with basal heating cables and placed in a
dark, unheated basement. Soil was washed between
the roots and iprodione used as in the covered
method. The soil was kept moist by periodic watering
and at a temperature of 20°e. The air temperature
fluctuated between 13 and 16°e. In the second year,
the uncovered forcing was carried out in an insulated
room with the air temperature controlled within
15-22°C and soil temperature at 20°e.
The chicons were harvested and graded on 16
June and 18 July 1980 in the first trial depending
upon maturity, and in the second trial on 12 June
and 13 July 1981. The chicons were graded and
weighed into marketable and reject categories using
European standard classes (Buishand & Koomen
1970; Nicolai 1977).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Witloof production occurs in 2 distinct stages -
growing the root in the field and the production of
witloof under controlled conditions from the lifted
roots.
Field production of chicory
The root yields obtained in both trials (ranging
from 15 to 49 tlha) and the percentage roots of
optimum size (Table 2) indicate that chicory can
be successfully grown in New Zealand to give yields
comparable to those in Europe. Expected root
yields in the Netherlands from crops of 200 000
plants/ha are 18 - 22 tlha from early crops and
25 - 30 tlha from late crops (Timmerman 1980).
In the first year, the percentage of roots of ideal
forcing size (2 - 6 cm) was low, and substantially
less than in the second year, with most of the
remaining roots being oversize. This high
percentage of large roots was seen as a function of
having a low plant population and delaying harvest
until 24 - 29 weeks after sowing. In the Netherlands
it is now recommended to harvest roots 14 - 20
weeks after sowing depending upon the maturity
rating of the cultivar (Timmerman 1980), although
earlier recommendations suggested 24 weeks was
a suitable growing period (Vrijland 1976). The more
accurate way to determine when roots should be
Poll & Douglas-Chicory: production for witloof in the Waikato 63

Table 2 The plant population, root yield, and percentage of roots in the 2 - 6-cm size range for
each chicory cultivar in each year.
1979-80 1980-81
Plants Root yield 070 roots Plants Root yield 070 roots
Cultivar (thous./ha) (tlha) 2-6cm (thous./ha) (tlha) 2-6cm
Kwarosa 133 46.0 47.0 140 22.2 92.9
Kwarto 195 36.8 49.2 165 22.3 88.1
Midzo 140 17.0 89.3
Mivrola 96 41.3 28.7
Norvita 165 49.2 48.0 163 22.4 84.8
Prezo 163 16.4 82.1
Primo 147 32.6 67.2 150 15.6 74.9
Primosa 143 28.2 54.2 123 16.4 86.5
Secosa 114 36.5 65.2 173 15.6 85.4
Secunda 129 36.8 61.2 185 18.8 91.5
Super export 187 44.6 53.7
Terosa 147 40.2 56.5 123 21.1 100
Tertio 115 28.0 91.2
Trilof 210 46.2 50.2
Zoom F1 232 31.6 73.5 180 17.8 83.7
LSD (5070) 58.8 12.1 13.8 47.6 11.3 8.73
CV 070 26.3 22.8 18.1 22.2 32.0 6.9

forced is by biochemical tests of the roots, including Witloof production

carbohydrate analysis and inulase activity (lolivet
et a1. 1974; Roggen 1976). A useful field guide is
to cut roots vertically - the development of a small
cavity in the upper part of the root signifies that
the root is mature (van Kruistum & Buishand 1982;
Vrijland 1976). In our second trial, most roots were
in the required size range but the lower overall
production compared with the previous year is
probably related to the accidental grazing of the
field crop rather than to the maturity or plant
population effects.
The target plant population of 200 000 plants/ha
was only achieved with 3 cultivars in 1979 even
though seeding rates of 350 000 - 400 000 seeds/ha
were used. Sclerotinia rot caused some plant death,
particularly with 'Mivrola' which seemed very
susceptible. Hand weeding also caused some plant
loss. The practice in the Netherlands of sowing
600 000 seeds/ha and thinning down to about
200000 plants/ha (Timmerman 1980), may be
more satisfactory.
In general, there appear few constraints to
growing high yielding crops of optimum sized
chicory roots once experience is gained. Weed
control was the major difficulty in the trials and,
although weeds were controlled for most of the
season by using current herbicide recommendations
(Burney et a1. 1982), some late season hand weeding
was usually required. Field diseases have been of
little significance and bolting was not recorded.
Although these trials were conducted in the
Waikato, chicory could be successfully grown more
widely in New Zealand and has already been grown
in South Otago for coffee essence (Richards 1944)
and at Pukekohe for witloof (Crowder 1965).
The cultivars 'Norvita', 'Secunda', 'Kwarto', and
'Primo' forced under sand consistently gave the best
yield of marketable witloof (Table 3). The low yield
of the uncovered cultivars in the first year reflects
the poor conditions for forcing. In the second year
when better temperature control was used,
production of the highest yielding cultivars in the
uncovered system, particularly 'Zoom Fl', was
comparable with the sand-covered production.
Nevertheless, the yields are well below the
commercial yields in the Netherlands of 7.5 tlha
witloof from early cultivars and 16 tlha from mid
and late season cultivars (Poll 1982). The variable
quality and high reject witloof production in the
trials indicates the individual cultivar requirements
of pre-conditioning and forcing were not generally
met. Yield and quality of witloof has been shown
to be highly dependent on cultivars (Sarrazyn 1976;
Lips 1976) but this, in turn, is very dependent upon
achieving the appropriate physiological ripeness of
the individual cultivars (Huyskes 1962; Rutherford
1977). Consequently, this cultivar comparison can
be regarded only as a preliminary guide, because
no allowance was made for the likely strong cultivar
interactions with root maturity, low temperature
storage, and the forcing conditions.
High quality witloof are required for export and,
because of the hygiene regulations of importing
countries, it will be imperative to produce witloof
from uncovered systems to avoid soil
contamination. Provided forcing rooms have
carefully controlled temperature and humidity
conditions, witloof yields should readily exceed that
of 'Zoom Fl' in the second year. Sophisticated
64 New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 1987, Vol. 15

Table 3 The marketable, reject, and total witloof production of individual cultivars grown with
and without sand covering in each year (tlha).

1979-80 1980 - 81

Cultivar Marketable Reject Total Marketable Reject Total

Kwarosa 0.9 0.8 1.7 2.9 2.5 5.4

Kwarto' 5.0 1.1 6.1 4.9 3.2 8.1
Midzo 1.6 5.0 6.6
Mivrola 0.9 0.6 1.5
Norvita' 6.6 3.0 9.6 3.7 3.3 7.0
Prezo 1.0 4.4 5.4
Primo' 9.6 2.5 12.1 3.3 2.4 5.7
Primosa 0.8 0.8 1.6 2.8 2.6 5.4
Secosa 1.0 1.8 2.8 1.8 4.4 6.2
Secunda' 6.1 2.6 8.7 4.0 5.4 9.7
Super export' 4.4 1.8 6.2
Terosa 1.9 1.2 3.1 2.2 1.5 3.7
Tertio 2.5 3.0 4.5
Trilof' 4.4 2.1 6.5
Trilof 1.3 0.6 1.9
Zoom FI' 4.1 1.8 5.9 3.3 1.7 5.0
Zoom FI 0.8 2.6 3.4 4.9 1.9 6.8
LSD (50/0) 1.4 1.4 2.3 2.0 0.7 2.8
CV % 36.4 62.2 31.7 46.7 38.3 32.3

, Sand covered.

forcing systems are already being used in New
Zealand, with hydroponic methods replacing the
soil bed systems. Since this research started, a small,
thriving export trade in witloof has begun
(Cornwell 1984).
REFERENCES
Bomme, U.; Lechl, P. 1981: Chicoree - feldanbau und-
treiberei. (Chicory - field production and
forcing.) Deutscher gartenbau 36(2) : 42 -45.
Buishand, Tj.; Koomen, J. P. 1970: Teelt en trek van
witlof. (Growing and forcing of witloof.) Bulletin
no. 1. Consulentschap voor de Groenteteelt,
Hoeverweg 106, A1kmaar - the Netherlands. 51 p.
Burney, B.; Poll J. T. K.; Rahman, A. 1982: Control
of weeds in edible chicory. Proceedings of the 35th
New Zealand weed and pest control conference:
301-303.
Cornwell, J. 1984: Witloof offers exciting prospects. New
Zealand fruit and produce journal July/August
1984: 7 -12.
Crowder, R. A. 1965: Vegetable with a difference, the
witloof widely known in Europe, is being grown
at Pukekohe. New Zealand journal of agriculture
ll1 : 35.
Fiala, V.; Jolivet, E. 1980: The aptitude of roots of
witIoof chicory for chicon production studied by
their carbohydrate composition. Scientia
horticulturae 13 : 125 -134.
Huyskes, J. A. 1960: Le forcage en relation avec Ie cycle
de vegetation. (Forcing in relation to the growth
cycle.) Annales de Gembloux 1960, 66 : 121 -138.
--1961: Witloof trek ken zonder (dek) grond.
(Witloof forcing without (soil) cover.)
Mededelingen van de Directie Tuinbouw 24 :
497 - 503, 519.
---1962: Cold requirements of witIoof chicory
varieties (Cichorium intybus L.) as a yield
determining factor. Euphytica II : 36 - 41.
Jolivet, E.; Lefevre, S.; de Coninck, B. 1974:
Determination de la maturite de la racine de
chicoree de Bruxelles a I'aide d'un test biochimique
simple. (Determination of the maturity of the root
of BrusselS chicory with the aid of a simple
biochemical test.) Pepinieristes, horticulteurs,
maraichers 149 : 97 - 100.
Lips, J. 1976: Some experiences with new varieties of
witIoof for for.;ing without soil covering.
Proceedings of the Eucarpia meeting on leafy
vegetables, Wageningen, the Netherlands, 15 -18
March: 40-47.
Nicolai, P. 1977: Applicatie cursus vollegronds
groenteteelten. Onderdeel: witloof. Directie bedrijf
structurele aangelegenheden. (Practical course on
outside vegetables: witloof. Management
practices.) Ministerie van Landbouw, the
Netherlands. 64 p.
Poll, J. T. K. 1982: Report on a visit to several European
countries July - September 1982. New Zealand
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries internal
report. 27 p.
Richards, J. G. 1944: The growing of chicory. New
Zealand journal of agriculture 69 : 581 - 583.
Poll & Douglas-Chicory: production for witloof in the Waikato
Roggen, H. P. J. R. 1976: Prediction ofthe proper stage
of maturity for forcing chicory roots (Cichorium
intybus L.) by determination of inulase activity.
Proceedings of the Eucarpia meeting on leafy
vegetables, Wageningen, the Netherlands, 15 -18
March: 29-31.
Rutherford, P. P. 1977: Changes during prolonged cold
storage in the reducing sugars in chicory roots and
their effects on the chicons produced after forcing.
Journal of horticultural science 52 : 99 -103.
Rutherford, P. P.; Phillips, D. E. 1975: Carbohydrate
changes in chicory during forcing. Journal of
horticultural science 50 : 463 - 473.
Ryder, E. J. 1979: Endive and chicory. In: Leafy salad
vegetables. Westport, Connecticut, AVI Publishing
Co. pp. 171-193.
65
Sarrazyn, R. 1976: Study of varieties with Belgian endive
without a comparison with soil cover. Proceedings
of the Eucarpia meeting on leafy vegetables,
Wageningen, the Netherlands, 15 -18 March:
32 -39.
Timmerman, J. G. 1980: Dutch ways with chicory.
Horticulture industry April. pp. 16, 20.
van Kruisteum, G.; Buishand, Tj. 1982: Teelt en trek van
witlof. (Growing and forcing witloof.)
Teelthandleiding 12. August. Proefstation voor de
Akkerbouw en de Groenteteelt in de Vollegrond,
Alkmaar-Lelystad, the Netherlands.
Vente, J. M.; Hamersma, J. 1978: Klimaataspecten van
het forceren van witlof op water. (Soilless forcing
of witloof.) Instituut voor Mechanisatie, Arbeid
en Gebouwen, Wageningen, publikatie 98. 32 p.
Vrijland, N. 1976: Chicory growing techniques. Advisory
leaflet of Sluis & Groot, Enkhuizen, the
Netherlands. 6 p.