Abstract

To investigate the beneficial impacts of plant density on drought resistance of chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. ‘Qazvin’), we conducted an experiment in the field by measuring certain features essentially related to yield characters. Our objective in this study was to assess the interactive effects of various plant densities (6, 9, 12 and 15 plants/m²) and watering limitation. In the latter, water supply was determined by applying irrigation levels, which was adjusted by regulating water evaporation from an evaporation pan (50, 100 and 150 mm water evaporation). Yield compounds as well as kaempferol content, biological yield, stem yield, leaf yield, plant height and root diameter were all significantly higher when plants were cultivated at the highest density. Non-drought stress treatments showed a significant increase in the yield of compounds, lateral stem number, root length and pod number.

Key words: Biological yield, kaempferol content, leaf yield, plant densities, stem yield, water stress.