Agronomy Journal 92:191-194 (2000)
© 2000 American Society of Agronomy
FORAGES
Comparison of `Grasslands Puna' Chicory and Orchardgrass for Multiple Harvests at Different Management Levels
Lisa A. Holdena,
Gabriella A. Vargaa,
Gerry A. Jung
,b and
John A. Shafferb
a Dep. of Dairy and Animal Sci., The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA 16802 USA
b Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Res. Lab., University Park, PA 16802 USA
lholden{at}das.psu.edu
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ABSTRACT
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The objective was to compare the nutrient composition of `Grasslands Puna' chicory (Puna) (Cichorium intybus L.) and `Pennlate' orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) at different levels of harvesting management. The two herbages were harvested multiple times at three different management levels, intense, moderate, and lenient, corresponding to chicory canopy management levels of 25, 37, and 50 cm, and clipped to a 5-cm stubble height. The experimental design was a 2 x 3 (species x management) factorial with five replications. Nitrogen was applied after each harvest except the last harvest of the season. Herbages were freeze-dried and ground prior to analyses for organic matter (OM), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), neutral-detergent fiber (NDF), nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC), crude protein (CP), degradable protein (DP), and soluble protein (SP). Organic matter, ADF, and NDF concentrations were lower (P < 0.05) in chicory than in orchardgrass in both years. Chicory herbage contained less than 5 g kg-1 hemicellulose. Orchardgrass had less (P < 0.05) DP than chicory in 1992 but not in 1993. Increasing intensity of management (lenient, moderate, or intense) resulted in increased CP, SP, and DP during both 1992 and 1993. Overall, Puna chicory was a high-quality forage, equal to or better than orchardgrass in quality under these harvest conditions.
Abbreviations: ADF, acid-detergent fiber • CP, crude protein • DP, degradable protein • NDF, neutral-detergent fiber • NSC, nonstructural carbohydrate • OM, organic matter • SP, soluble protein
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INTRODUCTION
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`GRASSLAND PUNA' CHICORY (hereafter referred to simply as Puna) was selected for improvement in morphological characteristics (i.e., leafiness) in New Zealand, and the cultivar was certified in 1984. Although chicory has been on the Pennsylvania Noxious Weed List since 1939 (Hill, 1983), positive animal performance on test farms in Pennsylvania led the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to make an exception to the regulation in 1993. (Special permission was granted to conduct this research, which was done before the exception was made.)
Several researchers have reported increased animal performance with Puna chicory than with more traditional herbages. Jung et al. (1994) found increased milk yield with lactating cows (Bos taurus) grazing chicory. Fraser et al. (1988) showed that lambs (Ovis aries) grazing chicory gained >70 g more than lambs grazing rape (Brassica napus L.). Komolong et al. (1992) found a 44 g kg-1 advantage in live weight gain with lambs on Puna chicory compared with lambs on `Wana' orchardgrass. Scales (1993) found higher liveweight gains in lambs grazing chicory than lambs grazing clover (Trifolium sp.), and when herbage allowance was increased by 30 g kg-1 for clover, lambs on chicory continued to have 16 g kg-1 higher gains. Increased animal performance may be related to increased nutrient quality, particularly at lower canopy management levels. Reid et al. (1993) found that Puna chicory pasture was higher in protein and lower in fiber than ryegrass (Lolium sp.) and red clover (T. pratense L.) pasture. Our objective was to compare the nutrient composition of Puna chicory and Pennlate orchardgrass with differing management levels, intense, moderate, and lenient, corresponding to three canopy heights of 25, 37, and 50 cm during two consecutive years.
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Materials and methods
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Puna chicory and Pennlate orchardgrass were broadcast-seeded (4.4 kg ha-1 and 22.4 kg ha-1, respectively) in August 1991 on Hagerstown silt loam soil (fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs) at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center (40°48' N, 77°52' W; elev. 358 m). After seeding, rainfall totaled 62 mm in August and 124 mm in September. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with five replicates and a 2 x 3 (species x canopy management level) factorial arrangement of treatments. Plot size was 3 by 4 m. Plots were managed at three levels, intense, moderate, or lenient, corresponding to clipping at chicory canopy height of 25, 37, or 50 cm. Plots were clipped to a 5-cm stubble height. Nitrogen was applied after each harvest except the last harvest of the year at a rate of 55 kg ha-1. Soil fertility was maintained at high levels, according to soil test results, and dolomitic limestone was applied in April of each year at a rate of 2.2 Mg ha-1. In 1992, the intensive management had seven harvests with 330 kg ha-1 applied N, the moderate management had five harvests with 275 kg ha-1 applied N, and the lenient management had four harvests with 220 kg ha-1 applied N. In 1993, the intensive management had six harvests with 275 kg ha-1 applied N, the moderate management had four harvests with 220 kg ha-1 applied N, and the lenient management had three harvests with 165 kg ha-1 applied N.
Herbage was collected from each plot at each harvest and frozen in liquid N2, freeze-dried, and ground through a 1mm screen prior to compositional analyses. Herbages were analyzed for OM (AOAC, 1984), CP (AOAC, 1984), DP (Krishnamoorthy et al., 1982), SP (Krishnamoorthy et al., 1982), ADF (Goering and Van Soest, 1971), and NDF. Nonstructural carbohydrate was determined based on a modification of a procedure (Smith, 1981) to use ferricyanide as a colorimetric indicator. The NSC content was only determined on the 1992 (Year 1) herbage.
The experiment layout was as described by Jung et al. (1996), with a completely randomized design with a 2 x 3 (species x management) factorial treatment structure, with five replicates. Data for each year were analyzed separately, and means from the variable number of harvests were used for analysis. Statistical analysis used the general linear models of SAS (SAS Inst., 1987). The least squares means procedure (SAS Inst., 1987) was used for means separation and significant differences were declared at P < 0.05.
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Results
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Information about weather conditions during the growing seasons, herbage yields, and herbage mineral content can be found in a companion paper (Jung et al., 1996). There were no significant species x management-level interactions for any nutrient evaluated. Main effect means for nutrient composition are presented separately for each year. Puna chicory had less (P < 0.05) OM, ADF, and NDF than orchardgrass in 1992 (Table 1)
and in 1993 (Table 2) . Also in 1992, the chicory herbage was higher (P < 0.05) in NSC concentration (Table 2). There was no difference in OM, ADF, or NDF concentration due to management level (canopy height at the time of harvest) in either year. Although no comparison between years was made, OM values appeared numerically similar, while fiber values were slightly higher in 1993, probably due to weather conditions and stand maturity (Jung et al., 1996).
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Table 1 Organic matter (OM), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), neutral-detergent fiber (NDF), and nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) in `Grasslands Puna' chicory (PC) and `Pennlate' orchardgrass (OG) under intense, moderate, or lenient management levels during 1992
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Table 2 Organic matter (OM), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) in `Grasslands Puna' chicory (PC) and `pennlate' orchardgrass (OG) under intense, moderate, or lenient management levels during 1993
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Puna chicory had a higher (P < 0.05) concentration of DP than orchardgrass during 1992 (Table 3)
. Concentrations of CP and SP did not differ significantly between species in either year (Tables 3 and 4)
. Management level significantly affected concentration of CP, DP, and SP in both species and both years (Tables 3 and 4). More intensive management (lower canopy height at harvest) resulted in higher (P < 0.05) CP, DP, and SP concentrations.
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Table 3 Crude protein (CP), soluble protein (SP), and degradable protein (DP) for `Grasslands Puna' chicory (PC) and `pennlate' orchardgrass (OG) under intense, moderate, or lenient management levels during 1992
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Table 4 Crude protein (CP), soluble protein (SP), and degradable protein (DP) for `Grasslands Puna' chicory (PC) and `pennlate' orchardgrass (OG) under intense, moderate, or lenient management levels during 1992
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Discussion
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Analyses indicated that Puna chicory should be as good as or better than orchardgrass herbage for grazing livestock. Significantly (P < 0.05) lower ADF concentration (161 vs. 283 g kg-1 in 1992 and 212 vs. 302 g kg-1 in 1993 for chicory and orchardgrass, respectively) suggests that chicory would provide more energy per kilogram of DM eaten than orchardgrass. Using equations from the Dairy Reference Manual (1995), calculated net energy content would be 1.87 and 1.61 Mcal kg-1 for chicory and orchardgrass, respectively, in 1992 and 1.74 and 1.56 Mcal kg-1 for chicory and orchardgrass, respectively, in 1993. Low fiber concentration of the chicory in 1992 was probably associated with low stem production, particularly with intensive management (Jung et al., 1996). However, the low ADF values for chicory also indicate that some other source of forage would need to be supplemented with chicory or that combinations of chicory and grass pasture would be needed in order to provide the minimum of 210 g kg-1 ADF (NRC, 1989) in rations for lactating cows. Similarly, the low NDF concentrations of chicory, 175 g kg-1 in 1992 and 250 g kg-1 in 1993, should support higher levels of dry matter intake (Mertens, 1985) in grazing ruminants than in orchardgrass. However, the low NDF levels in first-year stands of chicory suggest the need for some supplemental forage in ruminant rations to support good rumen health (Sudweeks et al., 1975; Kawas, 1984) and adequate milk fat production (Santini et al., 1983; Shaver et al., 1984).
The hemicellulose fraction of the forage is represented by the difference in the NDF and ADF portions of the forage. Thus, little difference between NDF and ADF concentrations of chicory indicates that hemicellulose is less than 50 g kg-1 of the forage (Tables 3 and 4). Conversely, orchardgrass is characterized by a larger fraction of hemicellulose and may be expected to result in different fiber digestion characteristics than chicory. Research examining the digestion of fiber in chicory would be beneficial.
No significant differences in CP concentration of the two species were noted, in contrast to earlier findings (Jung et al., 1996). High levels of DP in chicory in both 1992 and 1993 indicate a possible need for high levels of ruminally degradable carbohydrate in order to maximize N utilization in the rumen (Hoover and Stokes, 1991). High levels of CP, especially when a large portion is DP, have been shown to result in less efficient use of N in ruminant animals (Verite et al., 1984; Beever et al., 1986; Holden et al., 1994). Higher (P < 0.05) concentration of CP, DP, and SP with more intensive management is probably related to the proportion of stem harvested at the different management levels. Jung et al. (1996) found that stem proportion of the total yield was highest under lenient management. Due to higher CP contents, maximal livestock production may be achieved when more intensive management is employed, providing that intensive management does not limit intake of forage in the animal.
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Conclusion
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Puna chicory was comparable in nutrient quality to orchardgrass and had lower concentrations of OM, ADF, and NDF. The high quality of the chicory should support high levels of live weight gain or milk production, but may be best used in combination with other forages to reduce the negative effects of low fiber levels. Additional research focused on the digestibility of fiber fractions in chicory would be beneficial for determining profitable strategies for using chicory with grazing animals.SAS Institute 1987
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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The authors wish to acknowledge the able assistance of John Everhart for field work and sample collection and of Terri Cassidy and Connie Garman for laboratory analyses.
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NOTES
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Present address for G.A. Jung, 22 Oyster Bay Place, Hilton Head Plantation, Hilton Head, SC 29926; for J.A. Shaffer, Dep. Agronomy, The Pennsylvania State Univ. 
Received for publication May 19, 1998.
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- Hill, R.J. 1983. Act 1982–74. Pennsylvania noxious weed control act. p. 16–21. Regul. Hort. 9. No. 1–2.
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TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
