Response of Forage Chicory Seedlings to Available Soil Phosphorus in Two Soils in a Controlled Environment

Poor phosphorus (P) fertility is a problem limiting productivity on unimproved Appalachian soils and has been implicated in poor palatability of forage chicory (Cichorium intybus L.). Three cultivars were grown in a greenhouse at varying soil P levels in Gilpin and Hagerstown silt loam soils and harvested 48 and 77 days after planting. In Gilpin soil, available soil P (ASP) was positively associated with dry shoot mass, leaf mass, leaf area, and leaves per plant and negatively associated with specific leaf area. In Hagerstown soil, ASP was positively associated only with only dry shoot and leaf mass. At equivalent ASP levels, dry shoot and leaf mass, leaf area, and shoot concentrations of P, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were always greater in Hagerstown than Gilpin soil, whereas specific leaf area was less. Equalization of ASP concentration and environmental conditions did not eliminate growth-limiting differences between Gilpin and Hagerstown soils for chicory.