Chicory is a herbaceans plant, belonging to the family of Asteracae. This plant is a rich source of polysaccharides, vitamins, acids and mineral salts. The studies concerned the harmfulness of soil-borne fungi towards root chicory – a high-inulin plant, with considerable pro-health values – cultivated with the use of such cover crops as oats, tansy phacelia and spring vetch. Among the mulching plants, oats had the most positive effect on the number and healthiness of the seedlings and roots of chicory. The most harmful towards the seedlings proved to be the following: Altenaria alternata, A. cichorii, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium irregulare, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The roots of older chicory plants were also infected by A. tenuissima, Botrytis cinerea, F.  culmorum, F. solani, Phoma cichoracearum, Phytophthora sp., Ramularia cichorii, Sclerotium rolfsii, Thielaviopsis basicola and Verticilium dahliae.

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