PERFORMANCE OF GRASSLANDS PUNA CHICORY AT DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT LEVELS

'Grasslands Puna' chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial tap-ro oted herb that shows potential to produce high yields of palatable for age for ruminants. Our objective was to determine management effects o n herbage production and quality, and stand persistence. Chicory and ' Pennlate' orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) were established on Hag erstown silt loam (fine, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludalf) soil at Rock Sp rings, PA. Treatments were intensive, moderate, and lenient management , corresponding to 25-, 37-, and 50-cm chicory canopy height at harves t, with N fertilizer applied after each harvest except the last. The e xperimental design was a 2 x 3 (species x managements) factorial with five replications. Total yields of forage averaged 9.4 Mg ha(-1) for c hicory and 7.9 Mg ha(-1) for orchardgrass in 1992 and 1993. Management did not affect total yield of chicory the first harvest year, nor tha t of orchardgrass in either year. Chicory yield was greatest from plan ts under lenient management the second year. Mean crude protein concen tration in chicory and orchardgrass was 200 g kg(-1) and 185.g kg(-1) respectively, but both species showed a potential to accumulate concen trations greater than 250 g kg(-1). Low concentrations (110 g kg(-1)) were associated with floral stem production. Chicory herbage had highe r concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Cu, and Zn, than did orchardgrass. Our results show that Grasslands Puna can withstand a range of defoli ation intensities while maintaining excellent productivity.