‘NuMex Heritage Big Jim’ New Mexican Chile Pepper

Abstract

Pepper Breeding and Genetics Program announces the release of 'NuMex Heritage Big Jim' chile pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). 'NuMex Heritage Big Jim' is an openpollinated, improved, New Mexican pod-type cultivar. The name was chosen to distinguish the newly selected cultivar from the original cultivar, NuMex Big Jim, while retaining its association. 'NuMex Heritage Big Jim' has superior flavor, a uniform and higher heat level, greater plant and pod uniformity, and higher yield as compared with the current commercially available 'NuMex Big Jim' chile pepper. There is a renewed interest in heirloom vegetables in the United States because of the variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and, most importantly, the flavor they provide (Creasy, 1999; McLaughlin, 2010). There is no official definition for what constitutes an heirloom vegetable. Most sources agree that heirloom cultivars, also called heritage or vintage cultivars, should be open-pollinated and have a well-established history (Harris, 2007; Iannotti, 2012). One such heirloom legacy is 'NuMex Big Jim'. The New Mexican-type chile pepper cultivar, NuMex Big Jim, was released by New Mexico State University in 1975 (Nakayama, 1975). It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as producing the world's largest pepper pod at 33.75 cm (13.5 inches) long (Coon et al., 2008). Because of the large pods, the cultivar is a favorite of home gardeners and chefs for making chile relleno, a stuffed chile pepper pod. Changes have occurred to the original 'NuMex Big Jim' that includes yield, maturity date, plant habit, and fruit characteristics. Growers state that 'NuMex Big Jim' fruit is much milder than it was in the past. Also, when released in 1975, one of the complaints about the original 'NuMex Big Jim' was that

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Reveal Genetic Diversity in New Mexican Chile Peppers (Capsicum Spp.) 

“…The NMSU C. annuum complex separated into subgroups based on fruit type, consistent with previous observations among Spanish C. annuum pepper genotypes [31]. Breeding and selection for improvement of heirloom cultivars including 'NuMex Big Jim' and 'NuMex Sandia' have resulted in the release of the 'NuMex Heritage Big Jim' and the 'NuMex Sandia Select', with both cultivars having increased consumer and horticultural value [38,39]. Genotyping using genomewide SNP markers showed that these improved heirloom cultivars did not necessarily cluster with the parental heirlooms, albeit still observed to be closely related varieties.…”

“…These varieties possess different fruit (pod) types such as New Mexican, paprika, cayenne, jalapeno, and included the ornamental chile peppers speci cally developed for the potted plant and nursery industries [47], all belonging to C. annuum. The New Mexican types included 'NuMex Joe E. Parker' [48], 'NuMex Heritage Big Jim' [38], 'NuMex Big Jim' [49], and 'NuMex Sandia Select' [39], whereas the cayenne type included 'NuMex Las Cruces' [50]. The paprika type consisted of 'NuMex Garnet' [51], and the jalapenos comprised of 'NuMex Jalmundo' [52], 'NuMex Vaquero' [53], and 'NuMex Piñata' [54].…”

Single nucleotide polymorphisms reveal genetic diversity in New Mexican chile peppers (Capsicum spp.)

“…The NMSU C. annuum complex separated into subgroups based on fruit type, consistent with previous observations among Spanish C. annuum pepper genotypes [ 31 ]. Breeding and selection for improvement of heirloom cultivars including ‘NuMex Big Jim’ and ‘NuMex Sandia’ have resulted in the release of the ‘NuMex Heritage Big Jim’ and the ‘NuMex Sandia Select’, with both cultivars having increased consumer and horticultural value [ 38 , 39 ]. Genotyping using genome wide SNP markers showed that these improved heirloom cultivars did not necessarily cluster with the parental heirlooms, albeit still observed to be closely related cultivars.…”

‘NuMex Sandia Select’ New Mexican Chile Pepper

“…green pod with a relatively high heat level and increased yield. A similar request was given for 'New Mexico 6-4' and 'NuMex Big Jim', which culminated in the release of 'NuMex Heritage 6-4' and 'NuMex Heritage Big Jim' (Bosland, 2012;Bosland and Coon, 2013).…”