New Hybrid Plants Could Prompt More Pepper Production in Southwest

UVALDE, Texas—While USDA figures show consumption of fresh peppers at an all-time high, only 12 percent are grown domestically.

To help Southwestern pepper producers perk up pepper production, Dr. Daniel Leskovar, a vegetable physiologist with Texas AgriLife Research, and other Texas A&M System scientists and agriculture experts have developed several new adapted pepper-plant hybrids.

Leskovar said U.S. fresh pepper production has declined significantly in the past decade due to global competition, labor issues, inconsistent market prices and inefficient agricultural practices.

"These factors, along with drought, plant disease and other challenges that are prevalent in the Southwest, have made it difficult for producers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona to grow peppers profitably," he said, noting that pepper production in the Southwest often is marred by drought, heat and plant diseases, which cause severe plant stress and reduce marketable yields by up to 50 percent.

The team already has bred several new cultivars of jalapeno, serrano, Habanero, poblano ancho, bell and other fresh pepper plants.

Source:

Eurekalert: New hybrid plants could prompt more prodigious pepper production in Southwest