New Mexico is one of the largest producers of chile pepper (Capsicum spp.) in the United States, with 51,000 tons of production in 2021 from an area of 8500 acres with average productivity of 6 tons/acres according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Statistics Service. The average productivity decreased by 25% as the area planted to chile pepper production remained the same. This resulted in a reduction in economic activity of almost 10% in 2020 compared with the previous year, from $50.1 million to $44.9 million. This significant decline in the total production of chile pepper in the state spurred scientists to new modernization efforts aimed at accelerating the genetic gain and improving productivity in the NMSU Chile Pepper Breeding and Genetics program by evaluating different traits related to yield and yield potential using high-throughput phenotyping tools such as the Tomato Analyzer (TA).
Click here for original story, Tomato analyzer software reveals phenotypic diversity in New Mexican chile peppers
Source: Phys.org