The genus Cichorium (Asteraceae) contains several
important vegetable and industrial crops. Lucchin et al.
(2008) divided the species into two types according to their
application: the salad types (C. endivia L. and C. intybus L.
var. foliosum) and the root type (C. intybus L. var. sativum),
which is mainly used for the inulin extraction. Kiers
et al. (2000) divided the salad genotypes into three
subgroups: (1) the ‘Witloof’ cultivars, (2) the sugarloaf
cultivars and (3) the ‘Radicchio’ cultivars. The salad type
cultivars are mainly produced in Southern Europe and
Asia. Belgium is a major exporter of the Witloof cultivars.
The cultivation of root chicory is situated in the traditional
production areas in northwestern Europe (Belgium, The
Netherlands and Northern France) (Bais and Ravishankar
2001). Since 1990, root cultivars have played a major role
in the production of inulin, which is important for food
processing and cosmetics, as well as compounds such as
sesquiterpene lactones, flavonoids and vitamins (Baert and