(Bosland and Walker, 2004). The level Mechanizing Chile Peppers: Challenges and of pigmentation, or extractable color, is Advances in Transitioning Harvest of New measured through a spectrophotomet- ric method developed by the American Mexico’s Signature Crop Spice Trade Association (ASTA, 1985) andreportedinASTAcolorunits.A 1,3 2 red chile sample with 180 ASTA would Stephanie J. Walker and Paul A. Funk exhibit a richer red color in the finished product compared with a sample with ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Bracero Program, Capsicum annuum, destemming, an 80 ASTA measurement (Bosland mechanical harvest, North American Free Trade Agreement and Votava, 2012). Before the late 1980s, both the red SUMMARY. New Mexican-type red and green chile (Capsicum annuum) is important and green chile crops were hand- to New Mexico’s identity and economy. Producers began experimenting with harvested in New Mexico. The Bracero mechanical harvest in the mid-1960s, but efforts stalled in the 1970s. Adverse impact to production following the implementation of the North American Free Program, initially created to bring tem- Trade Agreement spurred renewed interest in chile mechanization. Through private porary farm workers to the United and public collaboration, the red chile industry in New Mexico has successfully States from Mexico to alleviate labor transitioned with more than 80% of domestic acreage currently mechanized. Green shortages during World War II, was chile has proven to be more challenging with fruit damage and lack of efficient initiated in 1942. During this period, mechanical stem removal posing key obstacles. Recent identification and develop- many growers in New Mexico partic- ments in equipment have provided necessary components for mechanization of ipated in the program to obtain the green chile, but must be scaled-up to production volumes. workforceneededtomaintainandhar- vest their labor-intensive chile crops. ew Mexican-type chile, often suitable for canning and was accept- Following the termination of the Bra- referred to as ‘‘Anaheim,’’ is able to a wide base of consumers, and cero Program in 1964, chile producers Nrecognized as New Mexico’s thereby was integral to the launch of and processors intensified efforts to signature crop. Both the red and commercial chile production in New mechanize field operations. The first green (fully sized, but physiologically Mexico and surrounding states documented trial of mechanical chile immature) crops are celebrated in (Bosland, 1992). harvest was carried out in 1965 by local cuisine, culture, and art. Fur- New Mexico’s official state ques- Ernest Riggs in Las Cruces, NM. In ther, the production and processing tion, ‘‘Red or green?,’’ (State of New that case, a mechanism fitted with in- of chile is an integral contributor to Mexico, 2005) refers to an individual’s clined, counterrotating brushes was the state’s economy (Hall and Skaggs, preference for red or green chile recipes propelled through the rows of chile 2003). The first New Mexican-type when ordering a meal. Red fruit are plants to dislodge the fruit (Marshall, chile, ‘New Mexico No. 9’, was offi- simply physiologically mature green 1994; Marshall and Boese, 1998). That cially released in 1921 from the New fruit; however, New Mexican-type red test was followed by a number of addi- Mexico College of Agriculture and chile and green chile are grown, har- tional trials performed by chile growers, Mechanical Arts [now New Mexico vested, processed, and sold in very processors, and small-scale equipment State University (NMSU)]. Fabian distinctive manners. In the early days manufacturers who implemented their Garcia, the first head of the college’s of commercial processing, a chile crop own designs or improvements on sub- agriculture experiment station, devel- wouldfirstbeharvestedforagreen sequent designs to strive for more effi- oped the cultivar through selective crop. Late setting fruit would be left on cient mechanical harvest. Wondel breeding for smooth skin, consistent the plant until red ripe, and then Creagar, who was awarded the first heat level, and uniform fruit size. harvested as a red crop. As the indus- patent on a mechanical chile harvester ‘New Mexico No. 9’ was a cultivar tries matured, cultivars were developed in 1971, developed a picking head that possessed characteristics specifi- comprised of eight vertical, counter- cally for either green chile or red chile rotating helixes with four positioned This paper was part of the colloquium ‘‘Strategy for Developing Mechanical Harvesting of Horticultural use. Preferably, green chile fruit are on each side of the plant row (Marshall Crops: Simultaneous Short-, Medium-, and Long- thick walled and 15 to 18 cm in length and Boese, 1998) (Fig. 1). Today, term Strategies’’ held 24 July 2013 at the ASHS to provide high-quality processed machines fitted with counterrotating Annual Conference, Palm Desert, California, and sponsored by the Production and Harvest Mechani- whole green chile. In contrast, red chile helixes are the predominant red chile zation (MECH) Working Group. processors favor fruit with thinner walls pickers in use (Walker, 2009). How- Support for chile pepper mechanization research has for more efficient drying. In addition, ever, other designs that employ a series been provided by the New Mexico Chile Task Force, low heat level (<700 Scoville heat units) of fingers or belts that comb through the New Mexico Chile Association, the New Mexico Chile Commission, Hatch funds, and the New or no heat, and high-pigmentation are the plants to remove the chile fruit are Mexico State University Agriculture Experiment desirable quality attributes in red chile also employed (Funk and Marshall, Station. 1Department of Extension Plant Sciences, New Mexico State University, 945 College Drive, PO Box 30003, Las Cruces, NM 88003 Units 2USDA Agricultural Research Service, Southwestern To convert U.S. to SI, To convert SI to U.S., Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, 300 East Col- multiply by U.S. unit SI unit multiply by lege Drive, PO Box 578, Mesilla Park, NM 88047 0.4047 acre(s) ha 2.4711 3Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. 2.54 inch(es) cm 0.3937
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2012). Researchers at NMSU were also Consumption of chile in the harvest (Wall et al., 2003). In 2004, engaged in mechanical harvest research United States has steadily increased ‘NuMex Garnet’ was the first chile following the termination of the Bracero since the 1980s. Initially, this increase cultivar released by NMSU that was Program. In 1979, Roy Nakayama, the in demand mirrored an increase in specifically evaluated for mechanical chile breeder at NMSU, received a me- production in New Mexico. Chile acre- harvest traits (Walker et al., 2004). chanical chile harvester from Santa age in New Mexico peaked in 1992 Breeding efforts to develop cultivars Maria Chile, Inc. [Santa Maria, CA when more than 34,000 acres were possessing these traits is ongoing. (currently Mo¨lndal, Sweden)] to aid in harvested (Hall and Skaggs, 2003). Crop management techniques are the school’s mechanical harvest re- The implementation of the North also critical to create plant and field search. The machine’s picking head American Free Trade Agreement in conditions that optimize mechanical was developed by George Abernathy, 1994 had an immediate impact on chile harvest. Closer plant spacing, for ex- an Agricultural Engineer at NMSU (G. acreage in New Mexico. Even as overall ample, contributes to a more efficient Abernathy, personal communication). consumption continued to increase, mechanical harvest by increasing the However, in the years following the production of chile in New Mexico height of the lowest fruit above the 1978 lawsuit against the University of decreased to a post–peak low of 8700 ground. Accordingly, the mechanical California that restricted federal funding acresharvestedin2010(NewMexico picking heads can more easily harvest on any research that could reduce the Department of Agriculture, 2010). the fruit. Populations of 40,000 need for hand laborers, research in chile Conversely, the volume of imported plants/acre are optimum, but more mechanization at NMSU essentially chile steadily increased to fill the rising than 80,000 plants/acre causes lower stopped. This mirrored actions taken domestic demand (Gandonou and yields because of excessive crowding by other public institutions across the Waliczek, 2013; Lucier and Dettmann, (Paroissien and Flynn, 2004). United States during that time (Peterson, 2008). New Mexican chile producers Methods to expedite plant senescence 2005; Sarig et al., 2000). recognized the precarious position near the end of the growing season, of the industry in the state and such as application of sodium chlorate approached NMSU for assistance. In to defoliate plants, are also employed 1998, the New Mexico Chile Task and provide for a cleaner, more effi- Force (transformed into the New Mex- cient mechanical harvest of red chile ico Chile Association in 2007) was (Walker, 2009). formed to unite industry and researchers Red chile is typically harvested late from the university and the U.S. De- intheseasonwhenfruitarepartiallydry. partment of Agriculture–Agricultural Since the processed product is usually Research Service (USDA-ARS) Cotton ground, some damage to the fruit dur- Ginning Research Laboratory (Las ing harvest does not significantly affect Cruces, NM) in efforts to reverse quality. While the red chile industry has the downward trend (Diemer et al., predominantly transitioned to mechan- 2002). Costs associated with hand ical harvest, the easily damaged New harvesting account for 50% of the Mexican-type green chile crop is en- Fig. 1. Wondel Creager pictured in overall production expenditures. In tirely hand-harvested. Mechanical har- 2003 with one of the first available comparison, operations that have vest of green chile has proven to be mechanical harvesters he developed in transitioned to mechanical harvest particularly challenging. The key obsta- the early 1970s for red chile harvest. spend less than 10% on labor (Eastman cles are unacceptability of damaged fruit The picking mechanism consists of et al., 1997). As a result, adoption of (Funk et al., 2011) and the need for eight vertical, counterrotating helixes with four positioned on each side of the mechanical harvest is a critical method a mechanical means of stem removal chile plant row. to make New Mexico-grown chile from the fruit (Herbon et al., 2009). more competitive with imported prod- Collaborative research between NMSU uct. Therefore, mechanization was one and the USDA-ARS Cotton Ginning of the key areas focused on by the New Research Laboratory identified an Mexico Chile Task Force. inclined double helix picking head man- Supported by the collaborative ufactured by Yung-Etgar (Bet-Lehem- effort between private and public re- Hglilit, Israel) as being most the most search, the red chile industry in New gentle fruit harvest mechanism (Fig. 3) Mexico has been highly successful in of those tested to date. Several experi- their transition to mechanization. Be- mental and commercial picking heads fore the 1990s, red chile was com- were tested and the Yung-Etgar picking pletely hand-harvested. Today, more head had the lowest average of 11% than 80% of the acreage is mechan- damaged fruit (Funk and Walker, ically harvested (Bosland and Walker, 2010). At the same time, differences Fig. 2. Mechanical harvest of 2004) (Fig. 2). Red chile mechanical were observed in mechanical harvest a commercial red chile field in Deming, NM, in 2004. Close plant spacing harvest trials showed that fields con- efficiency of different New Mexican- [>40,000 plants/acre (98,842.1 taining tall plants with narrow branch type green chile cultivars. Significant plants/ha)] and defoliation contribute angles, and a fruit set off the ground cultivar differences were measured in to optimum conditions for mechanical and well dispersed through the plant weight of sticks and stems, broken harvest of red chile fields. canopy provided for an optimum fruit, and fruit left in the field after
282 • June 2014 24(3) mechanical harvesting trials performed is achieved by mechanically cut- Funk, P.A. and D.E. Marshall. 2012. at the Leyendecker Plant Science Re- ting the top off of the fruit or by Peppers: Botany, production and uses. search Center (Las Cruces, NM) in pinching the stem off of the fruit CAB Intl., Wallingford, U.K. 2009 and 2010 (unpublished data) in a manner similar to that of hand- Funk, P.A. and S.J. Walker. 2010. Evalu- (Fig.4).Ofthegreenchilecultivars destemming. Promising mechan- ation of five green chile cultivars utilizing tested, PHB-109 and Despanado ical destemmers representing both five different harvest mechanisms. Appl. (Curry Chile and Seed Co., Pearce, options have been developed and Eng. Agr. 26:955–964. AZ) proved to be the most amenable are close to realization through Funk, P.A., S.J. Walker, and R.P. Herbon. to mechanical harvest (Walker and both public sector and private 2011. A systems approach to chile harvest Funk, 2010). manufacturers. mechanization. Intl. J. Veg. Sci. 17:296– Currently, efforts continue to The red chile industry in New 309. develop a machine that will effi- Mexico has predominately transi- ciently remove stems (calyx and tioned to mechanical harvest. This Gandonou, J.M. and T.M. Waliczek. pedicel) from green chile fruit shift has positioned the industry 2013. An analysis of the recent trends in (Herbon et al., 2009). Stem removal to be internationally competitive. U.S. chile pepper production, consump- Currently, the components neces- tion and imports. J. Food, Agr. Environ. 11:361–367. sary to implement mechanical har- vest of green chile in New Mexico Hall, T.Y. and R.K. Skaggs. 2003. Eco- are available but must be scaled-up nomic impact of southern New Mexico to production volumes. Finally, as vegetable production and processing. with all business ventures, econom- New Mexico State Univ. Chile Task Force ics drive the chile industries in Rpt. 9. New Mexico. The availability of Herbon, R., D. Cillessen, E. Gamillo, and hand labor in the state will ulti- A. Hyde. 2009. Engineering a machine to mately impact adoption. Full tran- remove stems from chile peppers – A sition to mechanical harvest of green critical need for the New Mexico chile chile will occur when mechanically industry. Proc. Amer. Soc. Agr. Biol. Eng. harvested chile provides quality Paper No. 095710. and profitability equal or greater Lucier, G. and R.L. Dettmann. 2008. Fig. 3. Chile harvester manufactured than what is currently provided by Vegetables, fresh market: U.S. imports of by Yung-Etgar (Bet-Lehem-Hglilit, hand-harvested product. To achieve major vegetables, 1979-2007. In: Vegeta- Israel) pictured in 2009 before use this outcome, a system must be in bles and melons situation and outlook in a green chile mechanical harvest place where researchers, growers, yearbook. US. Dept. Agr., Washington, demonstration in a commercial field and processors cooperate to opti- DC. in Salem, NM. The picking head mize cultivars, field conditions, and Marshall, D.E. 1994. Status of mechanical consists of three pairs of inclined, machinery. opposite-rotating double helices that pepper harvesting. Proc. Amer. Soc. Agr. detach the fruit from the plants. The Biol. Eng. Paper No. 941578. harvester is attached to a power and Literature cited Marshall, D.E. and B.N. Boese. 1998. propulsion unit provided by Oxbo Breeding Capsicum for mechanical har- International Corp. (Clear Lake, American Spice Trade Association. vest. Proc. 10th Eucarpia Mtg. Genet. WI). 1985. Official analytical methods. 3rd ed. Breeding Capsicum Eggplant 10:61– Amer. Spice Trade Assn. Englewood 64. Cliffs, NJ. New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Bosland, P.W. 1992. Chiles: A diverse 2010. New Mexico agricultural statistics. crop. HortTechnology 2:6–11. New Mexico Dept. Agr., Las Cruces, Bosland, P.W. and E.J. Votava. 2012. NM. Peppers: Vegetable and spice capsicums. Paroissien, M. and R. Flynn. 2004. Plant 2nd ed. CABI, Cambridge, MA. spacing/plant population for machine Bosland, P.W. and S. Walker. 2004. harvest. New Mexico Chile Task Force Growing chiles in New Mexico. New Rpt. 13. New Mexico State University, Mexico State Univ. Coop. Ext. Serv. Las Cruces, NM. Guide H-230. Peterson, D.L. 2005. Harvest mechani- Diemer, J.A., R. Phillips, and M. zation progress and prospects for fresh Hillon. 2002. An industry-university market quality deciduous tree fruits. Fig. 4. Mechanically harvested green response to global competition. New HortTechnology 15:72–75. chile [cultivar Despanado (Curry Mexico State Univ. Chile Task Force Sarig, Y., J.F. Thompson, and G.K. Chile and Seed Co., Pearce, AZ)] Rpt. 1. picked with the Yung-Etgar harvester Brown. 2000. Alternatives to immi- (Bet-Lehem-Hglilit, Israel) from Eastman, C., F. McClellan, and T. Bagwell. grant labor? The status of fruit and cultivar trials at New Mexico State 1997. Impact of increasing wages on New vegetable harvest mechanization in the University’s Leyendecker Plant Mexico chile production. New Mexico United States. 10 May 2013.
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State of New Mexico. 2005. New Mexico Walker, S.J. 2009. Red chile and paprika Wall, M.M., S.J. Walker, A.D. Wall, S.E. State Legislature handbook. 10 May production in New Mexico. New Mexico Hughs, and R. Phillips. 2003. Yield and 2013.
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