Non-pungent Jalapeņo peppers

These are newly developed peppers which are used to provide the jalapeņo taste in salsa products that are advertised as chunky. The pungency is provided by separate addition of capsaicin the ingredient from pepper that causes the taste to be hot.

Soil Type: Bernow fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Glossic Paleudalf. Other soils in the region are more or less sandy. A clay hardpan can exist close to the surface.

Location: Lane, Oklahoma

Fertilizer:                               Typical residue in spring (lbs/Acre)

Typical soil pH: 5-5.5

Add all fertilizer preplant at rates recommended by soil tests. A starter fertilizer, normally a soluble product, is added at transplanting.

Soil preparation: After soil is prepared beds are formed. Because soils warm quickly mulching is not necessary.

Row and plant spacing: Beds on 3 foot centers. A single row on a bed with 18 inches between plants. Research indicates that two plants at a planting site is beneficial.

Transplanting: The best production came when plants were established in the field in mid-April or late-July. However, when established in the field in mid-June yields were about one-half those for the other planting windows.

Harvest: Once, based on 5% of pods being red.

Water: This is the single most important factor in production of these types of peppers. It is beneficial to apply water at transplanting. A minimum of 2 inches of water per week is required during the growing season. If it is drier than normal then additional water will be required. Water can be supplied by overhead irrigation since the plants are likely to be mechanically harvested. However, if hand harvesting is undertaken and type of irrigation will suffice.

Post-harvest: The food processing company requires that the pedicel be removed from the fruit prior to delivery to the dock. Their pedicels on the proprietary cultivars are easily removed.