Nutritive value and animal selection of forage chicory cultivars grown in central Appalachia

The unequivocal success of 'Grasslands Puna' (Puna) chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) as a forage species in other areas has not been realized in the central Appalachian Region of the USA. A field study was conducted in southern West Virginia (38degrees N, 81degrees W; 850 m above sea level) to compare nutritional qualities and palatability of herbage from three forage chicory cultivars that were developed in different parts of the world. Puna, 'INIA Le Lacerta' (Lacerta), and 'Forage Feast' were established on a Gilpin soil (fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic, Typic Hapludults) in replicated plots in 1997 and 1998, and herbage was used for chemical analyses and ruminant feeding assessments. Whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus), in a free-foraging situation, and sheep (Ovis aries), in two cafeteria trials, discriminated against Forage Feast. Deer selected Lacerta first; sheep did not exhibit a preference for Lacerta over Puna. Mature leaves from vegetative rosettes of the three cultivars had similar concentrations of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber (P > 0.10). In vitro organic matter disappearance and amino acid composition were also similar among the cultivars (P > 0.05). In all cultivars, approximately 65% of the total N occurred as protein amino acids. Nonprotein amino acids were not major constituents in any of the cultivars. Results suggest that differences in palatability and intake of chicory are related to the secondary plant metabolite composition of the herbage.