In spite of the fairly high temperatures and many hours' sun last summer the earliness and harvest of French chicory roots is, nevertheless, expected to be disappointing. Growers were confronted with severe thunderstorms at the beginning of the season that resulted in the need to resow 10% of the plots. This year's summer was unable to save the situation: the summer was dry and, in addition, the high lettuce root aphid pressure seriously retarded root development on many plots.

High lettuce root aphid pressure

Approximately 40% of the French plots exhibit a greater or lesser degree of growth retardation caused by lettuce root aphid. The severity of the infestation was enhanced by the on average dry summer and (as is also the case in the Netherlands) very low nitrogen content of the soil. Since it is not possible to irrigate most French plots this has seriously slowed growth. There are concerns that the roots will not even be lifted on approximately 5% of the plots.

Consequences for the chicory harvest

The early root harvest will be lifted about 2 to 3 weeks later and the roots will be smaller. Forecasts indicate that the October French chicory harvest (the heads) will be significantly lower than in previous years and that a lower total volume (= tonnage) of roots will be lifted.
A number of major French chicory forcing companies have now closed their doors, which will reduce the forcing capacity by about 7 percent in the coming season. If the supply of French chicory roots also needs to be adjusted downwards then this could offer prospects to producers who have sufficient roots for the coming season. Producers are now receiving higher prices for their chicory.

The photos (click on the photo to enlarge) show severe lettuce root aphid infestation in a film-covered plot on 11 September 2009.