From the pages of Agricultural Research magazine Chicory Mops Up After Turkey Litter Chicory may be just the plant to clean up nutrients leached from turkey litter compost used to fertilize pastures. When spread at high rates, it looks like chipboard on the ground. Sometimes, however, there are more nutrients in that litter than plants can use, and this may pose problems for water quality. They want to see whether the chicory can boost cattle and sheep production, as well as catch excess nutrients and improve marginal soil.
Chicory has a big taproot, like a parsnip or carrot.
Belesky found the chicory could keep soaking up nitrogen and respond to commercial nitrogen fertilizer application rates as high as 424 pounds an acre. Now he is testing composted turkey litter as fertilizer. Farmers often stockpile the litter in the fall and apply it to their fields in spring. Recommended rates are under 3 tons an acre. The only major problem with chicory grown in mixture with other pasture plants, Belesky says, is that lambs choose the other plants before eating chicory.