Chicory varieties for the early season
The chicory witloof varieties and the red chicory variety Céralie for use in the early season are shown below. Darling and Bingo are the standard chicory varieties in this segment. Jackpot and Helios are the newest developments and Céralie is currently the only red chicory variety in the list below. These varieties need a growing period of 130-150 days in the field and are intended for processing soon after the roots have been harvested. However, these varieties still need a few weeks of post-ripening after harvesting, which takes place during the cold storage of the chicory root. During the forcing phase, these varieties need a sufficiently high temperature (18-20°C) so that they can form a firm head. The forcing temperature for the red chicory variety Ceralie is slightly lower than for the chicory varieties in the same period. By varying the sowing date and therefore the harvest date of the roots, these early season varieties can cover approximately the first 3-4 months of the forcing season.
Chicory Helios
Helios (OK-691) is a variety for the early forcing period. Helios requires a soil that is not too rich and produces a high uniform root yield. Helios has about 150 growing days and after harvesting the roots a cooling period of at least 3-4 weeks is required, Then the roots can be planted and forced for up to 3 months.
Shiny and productive
Helios produces slightly longer heads with glossy leaves that extend to the tip of the head. The specific weight is high and this makes Helios a productive variety. Helios also gives a good result on the finer roots and then gives a high quality product. The recommended forcing temperature is lower than Darling’s in the same period.
Click on the icon to download the Helios leaflet.
Key figures for Helios witloof chicory
| Forcing period | Early season | Beginning mid-season |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing period * | normal | normal - late |
| Quantity of seed/ha | 280-300.000 | 290-310.000 |
| Optimum number of plants/ha | 250-260.000 | 260-280.000 |
| Growing days | 150 | 150 |
| Cold storage period (roots) | 3-6 weeks | 1 – 3 months |
| Cold storage temperature (roots) | 0,0 °C. | 0.0 / -1.0 °C. |
* The minimum 24-hour temperature for sowing is 12 °C. Avoid night frost.
Chicosem is part of the Chico-group. Chicosem supplies chicory witloof seeds to professional chicory growers around the world.
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Chicosem is part of the Chico-group. Chicosem supplies chicory witloof seeds to professional chicory growers around the world.
CONTACT DETAILS
PARTNERS
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