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 Princesse
Chicory witloof Princesse is a new Darling-type for early forcing. Princesse is the CMS alternative for Darling. Chicory witloof Princesse is as Darling resistent to sulfonylurea herbicide. This offers major benefits for weed control. The nitrogen requirement in the cultivation of the roots is lower comparable with Darling and so lower than normal.
High quality and very uniform
Princesse is ideally suited to consumer packaging, and produces high-quality pointed, tight heads. In addition, Princesse is a Darling type and has therefor an unparalleled short pith, and an excellent shelf life. The optimal forcing period (harvest of the heads) for Darling are the first three months of the season.
Download here the full information about sulfonylurea resistance.
Key figures for Princesse witloof chicory
| Forcing period | early season | beginning mid-season |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing period * | normal | normal - late |
| Quantity of seed/ha | 280-310.000 | 290-320.000 |
| Optimum number of plants/ha | 250-260.000 | 260-270.000 |
| Growing days | 140 | 150 |
| Cold storage period (roots) | 2 weeks - 2 months | 2-3 months |
| Cold storage temperature (roots) | 0,0 °C. | 0.0 / -1.0 °C. |
The above figures should be interpreted as trends and depend on regional growing and operating conditions.
* 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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