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Performance of Jalapeno Pepper Cultivars, Plateau Experiment Station, 2001 Charles A. M ullins and A. Brent Smith Interpretative Summary All pepper cultivars produced nice fruit. Plant type and pod appearance was very similar for all cultivars. ‘Sayula’ had the largest yield of the cultivars tested. ‘PX3548387' and ‘Tula’ were among the cultivars with the highest average fruit weight. Introduction Jalapeno peppers are a crop with increased production potential for Tennessee. Though current acreage is relatively small, utilization of hot pepper including jalapeno is expected to increase in the future. An experiment was conducted at the Plateau Experiment Station at Crossville, TN in 2001 to evaluate the performance of 14 jalapeno pepper cultivars. Materials and Methods The site was prepared for planting by conventional tillage methods. Fertilizer was broadcast at 500 lb/A of 15-15-15, and incorporated with a disk on May 15. A bedder-plastic layer was used to make beds, lay 4 ft wide black plastic mulch and lay drip irrigation tape on May 16. Beds were on 6 ft centers. Clomazone (Command) at 0.5 lb ai/A was applied to the untreated row middles for weed control on May 30. Greenhouse growth seedlings were field transplanted on June 5. Plot size was a double on the bed with rows and plants spaced 18 inches apart. Each row contained 10 plants. Experimental plot design was a randomized complete block with four replications. Acephate (Orthene) at 1.0 lb ai/A was applied on a 10 day schedule for insect control. Irrigation was applied by drip tape as needed. Harvests were made on a 5 to 7 day frequency as the pepper matured. Pepper fruit were classed as marketable or cull. Number and weight of fruit in each grade were recorded. All data were analyzed by analysis of variance methods, and means were separated by Duncan’s multiple range tests at the 0.05 level of probability. Results and Discussion ‘Sayula’ had the highest yield of marketable fruit of all the cultivars. The remaining cultivars were not significantly different. ‘PX3548387' and ‘Tula’ were among the cultivars with the highest average fruit weight, while ‘PX17494' and ‘SXP4515' were among those with low average fruit weight. Yields were lower than expected for the pepper cultivars. Some very cool nights occurred in the early summer, and scattered cases of Southern Blight, which probably resulted in the relatively low yields. Measurements were not taken, but the plant type of all cultivars was very similar. Likewise, fruit appearance was similar for all cultivars. Table 1. Yields in tons per acre of marketable and cull fruit; average fruit weight of marketable fruit and seed sources of pepper cultivars at The University of Tennessee Plateau Experiment Station at Crossville, 2001.
z Means within columns followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level of probability, Duncan’s multiple range tests.
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