CHILE PEPPER PRODUCTION IN UC Vegetable Research CALIFORNIA & Information Center RICHARD SMITH, UCCE Vegetable Crop Advisor, Monterey County; JOSÉ L. AGUIAR, UCCE Farm Advisor, Riverside County; AZIZ BAAMEUR, UCCE Farm Advisor, Santa Clara County; MICHAEL CAHN, UCCE Irrigation and Water Resources Advisor, Monterey County; MARITA CANTWELL, Extension VRIC.UCDAVIS.EDU Vegetable Crops Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis; MARIA DE LA FUENTE, UCCE Farm Advisor, San Benito County; TIMOTHY HARTZ, Cooperative Extension Vegetable Crops Specialist, Department Vegetable of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis; STEVEN KOIKE, UCCE Plant Production Series Pathology Farm Advisor, Monterey County; RICHARD MOLINAR, UCCE Farm Advisor, Fresno County; ERIC NATWICK, UCCE Farm Advisor, Imperial County; TREVOR SUSLOW, Cooperative Extension Postharvest Specialist, University of California, Davis; ETAFERAHU TAKELE, UCCE Area Farm Advisor, Southern California Counties PRODUCTION AREAS AND SEASONS of seed germination decreases rapidly when soil tempera tures are below 77ºF (25ºC), with germination California has four main chile pepper (Capsicum slow below 68ºF (20ºC). Day temperatures of 75º annuum L.) production areas: the southern desert val­ to 85ºF (23.9º to 29.4ºC) with night temperatures leys (Imperial and Riverside Counties), the southern about 50º to 60ºF (10º to 15.6ºC) are ideal for growth. coast (San Diego, Orange, and Ventura Counties), the Although tolerant of temperatures of about 100ºF Central Coast (San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, (37.8ºC), such extreme conditions can reduce effective and Santa Clara Counties), and the Central Valley pollination, fruit set, and yield. (Tulare, Fresno, and San Joaquin Counties). Nearly all fields in the southern desert valleys are transplanted in late January or February for harvest VARIETIES AND PLANTING from late April through June. On the southern coast, TECHNIQUES planting also begins in January and continues through Varieties. Chile peppers comprise five species in the May for harvest from May through September. In the genus Capsicum and include a wide variety of pepper Central Coast, planting is done from March to June types. The species C. annuum is the most commonly for harvest from August to November. Planting in the cultivated. The fruits of C. annuum range in size and Central Valley begins in Fresno County in February shape from small cherry­like fruits to conical forms under plastic tunnels and hotcaps and moves through to slender fruits up to 9 inches (23 cm) long and counties farther north over the next four months for from mild to extremely pungent, as measured by the harvest from late May to November. Scoville heat index. Relatively mild chile types like Anaheim peppers may rank as low as 500 Scoville CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS heat units, while habanero peppers rank over 300,000. Chile peppers are warm­season crops, sensitive to Pungency is due to the presence of capsaicin, a freezing temperatures at any growth stage. The rate colorless, odorless alkaloid that is concentrated in the placental tissue. CHILE PEPPER ACREAGE AND VALUE Common chile pepper groups and varieties include the following. Paprika pods are long dark red with Gross little pungency. They are used for the production Harvested Average Yield Value ($/ of red pigment and flavoring. Jalapeño pep pers are Year Acreage (Tons/Acre) Acre) often harvested as green fruit for fresh­market use. 2009 5,900 17.5 7,726 A sizeable proportion of the production is also sold 2008 5,700 16.25 8,543 to processors. Anaheim, or New Mexican, are long, cylindrical peppers 7 to 9 inches (18 to 23 cm) long. 2007 5,800 15.50 10,664 They are harvested green for fresh use as well as 2006 5,500 16.50 8,019 canning, and ground red dehydrated pods are used Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture- in sauces. They range from varieties that have little California Agricultural Resource Directory 2010 University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu • Publication 7244 2 • Chile Pepper Production in California pungency (NuMex Conquistador and Anaheim) provided they are well drained and irrigated with to varieties that have appreciable pungency (e.g., care. Phytophthora root rot, a soilborne fungal Sandia). Wax peppers pods vary great ly in size and disease, can be a serious problem in soils saturated shape and are usually yellow when immature. They from excessive irrigation or rainfall. can be sweet or pungent and are used fresh or for pickling. Wax types are also called Güero, Banana, IRRIGATION and Hungarian Wax. Varieties include Caloro, Floral Chile pepper is typically drip or furrow irrigated. Gem, Matador, Sweet Banana, and Santa Fe Grande. Statewide, greater than 80 percent of the crop A large number of other chile pepper varieties is grown under drip irrigation. Furrow is most belong to other species of Capsicum. Examples are C. commonly used in areas such as the Central and chinenses, which includes habanero, Scotch bonnet, Imperial Valleys. Overhead sprinklers are typically and rocotillo chiles; C. baccatum, which includes South used for seedling or transplant establishment but American types known as aji chiles; C. frutescens, are seldom used for the entire production season. which includes Tabasco chiles; and C. pubescens, Where furrow irrigation is used, irrigation frequency which includes rocoto and manzano chiles. depends on soil type, environmental conditions, and Planting. Nearly all fields in the southern desert crop growth stage. Although peppers are moderately val leys and southern coastal regions are transplanted, deep­rooted, they are quite sensitive to moisture as are most fields in the southern half of the stress. Stress during bloom can cause substantial Central Valley. Many processing production fields reduction in fruit set, while stress during early fruit are commonly direct seeded with open pollinated growth can induce blossom end rot. Soil moisture varieties. However, an increasing number of hybrid stress can also minimize foliage cover, increas ing varieties are available for some types of chiles sunburning of fruit. However, care must be exercised that have higher yield potential, and their use has to prevent overwatering, which can induce root rot increased in recent years. caused by Phytophthora capsici. In the southern desert valleys, Central Valley, and With drip irrigation, growers use either one or southern coastal areas, peppers are usually grown two drip lines per bed; the lines may be buried 8 to as double rows on raised beds, 60 to 72 inches 10 inches (20 to 25.5 cm) below the soil surface to (1.5 to 1.8 m) apart, with plastic mulch and drip allow the tape to be used for multiple crops, or they irrigation. Much of the acreage is fumigated before can be placed on or just below the soil surface to ease transplanting. These three practices promote earliness installation and removal of the tape. Surface­placed and yield, and in the southern coastal areas, help tape and shallowly buried tape often provide the best compensate for the high cost of land and water. In uniformity of moisture across the width of the beds. Fresno County some smaller growers plant on beds Transplants are often established with drip. Usually 36 to 40 inches (0.9 to 1.0 m) apart with one seedline. the beds are moistened with a pre­irrigation before Plastic tunnels or hotcaps are sometimes used to give transplanting. Frequency of irrigation can vary from early­season frost protection, but this practice adds once or twice a week early in the season to almost considerable cost of production. Central Coast fields daily during times of peak water demand. are mostly transplanted, with some direct seeding. Water requirements of chile peppers depend on Planting in double­row beds is more common than the irrigation method, soil type, and weather regime. in single­row beds. Elsewhere in the state, neither Irrigation requirements range from 1.8 to 2.8 acre­feet fumiga tion nor plastic mulching are common, and (2,200 to 3,453 m3) for drip irrigated crops and 2.5 a wide variety of field configurations are used. Bed to 4 acre­feet (3,083 to 4,934 m3) for furrow­irrigated width varies from 30 to 66 inches (0.8 to 1.7 m), with crops. Irrigation requirements can be determined one or two rows of plants per bed; in­row plant by a combination of weather­based scheduling and spacing ranges from 8 to 16 inches (20.5 to 40.5 cm). soil moisture monitoring. Irrigating to maintain soil Where direct seeding is done, 0.5 to 2 pounds per moisture tensions below 40 cbars (kPa) minimizes acre (0.6 to 2.2 kg/ha) of seed is used. Higher rates water stress during critical stages of development are used early in the season when soil temperature such as flowering and fruit set. is suboptimal; pepper seed germinates slowly and Water use of chile peppers can be estimated using erratically below 68ºF (20ºC). reference evapotranspiration data (ETo) adjusted for a crop coefficient, which is closely related to the SOILS percentage of canopy cover shading the surface of the Many soil textures are used for chile pepper produc­ bed. A maximum crop coefficient of 1.05 corresponds tion. Sandy soils are preferred for the earliest with maximum canopy cover (> 90%). In fields where plantings because they warm more rapidly in overhead sprinklers are used during transplant the spring. Heavier soils can be quite productive, establishment, the crop coefficient ranges between 3 • Chile Pepper Production in California 0.2 to 0.4, depending on the irrigation frequency, fungicides should always be used in compliance with to account for water lost by evaporation from the label instructions. soil surface. With the exception of surface­placed Weed management. It is important to control or shallowly buried tape, in which water could be annual and perenni al weeds in pepper production lost by evaporation from the wetted surface of the to maintain acceptable yield and quality.