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Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research (INIFAP) has developed a new commercial strain of serrano pepper that is tolerant to diseases and has a much higher yield.
In a statement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) reported that the new strain will allow producers to optimize the quality of serrano pepper for market sales. Its high resistance to diseases will make it possible to reduce the use of agrochemicals, generating substantial savings for pepper producers.
The pepper strain, called CHISER-522 , is recommended for culture in the south of Tamaulipas , as well as Mexico’s northern region, Isla, Veracruz, and parts of San Luis Potosí.
The government body reported that, in addition to the optimal quality and uniformity of the fruit, this new improved pepper is tolerant to bacterial blight (Xanthomonas campestris) and mold (Oidopsis taurica) and has an average yield of 20.5 tonnes per hectare under fertigation .
The new strain yields 50% more than the criollo Villa Blanca strain , which is grown in southern Tamaulipas and produces 13.7 tonnes per hectare , the agency reported.
In the center and south of Veracruz, the culture and high market value of the Soledad pepper , also called thin serrano, has motivated its cultivation in other regions of the Huasteca plain.
At present, there are no improved commercial varieties and their production depends on landraces, which have high heterogeneity in plant and fruit.
The CHISER-522 pepper is an open-pollinated strain and a vigorous plant of 90 to 130 centimeters high and an intermediate cycle of 80 days to flowering and 110 days at the beginning of harvest.
The fruits of the strain weigh 4.7 grams, with an average length of 8.2 centimeters and 1.1 centimeters in diameter.
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