Arkansas

When Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492, he wasn't just seeking gold and glory. He was on a mission for spices, specifically peppercorn, which was equal in value to gold by weight.

When Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, he discovered a vegetable growing along the beach. That vegetable was chili pepines, a wild pepper. The vegetable met peppercorn criteria, and Columbus thought he was rich.

What may have been valuable to the Europeans was just an ordinary vegetable to native Americans.

Dr. Craig Andersen, horticulturalist-vegetable specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, says, "It seems likely that peppers were domesticated simultaneously and independently in several different South and Central American locations. The plants seem to have been under cultivation by some time between 5200 and 3400 B.C."

According to Andersen, pepper seed from the New World spread across the Old World rapidly.

"Thanks to the Portuguese and Spaniards peppers circumnavigated the world in 100 years, and that's quite a feat," said Andersen. "The plant grew prolifically and yielded many varieties depending on the location. Asians tended to like things hotter so you have the hotter groups of peppers from their selection process. The Spanish chose milder peppers and that's where banana and roasting peppers were derived from."

Bell peppers are tender, warm-season vegetables which require somewhat higher temperatures than tomatoes, says Andersen. Several other kinds of garden peppers (bell, pimento, tabasco, banana, cayenne, chili and paprika) may be grown as food or ornamentals in Arkansas. He adds, "Don't confuse these with black pepper, Piper nigrum, a shrub which yields the seed we use for a familiar table condiment. They're not related."

But one of the best known is the jalapeno pepper.

"In this part of the world, we're really diversifying the jalapeno consuming population to the point where you can finally get good tamales here," says Andersen.

"In Arkansas we're expanding our tastes. You find a lot more of different types of peppers being grown. They're very unique. Each has its own distinctive flavor and aroma once you get past the heat."

The sweet varieties of peppers are the most popular, says Andersen. Red suave and suave orange are two types of habernero peppers that have a fruitiness to their flavor but without the heat. "You get a flash of heat and then it all goes away," he says.

Serrano peppers have a flowery smell, like violets.

Peppers are in the same family as tomatoes. And like tomatoes they suffer from many of the same afflictions, especially blossom end rot, a calcium deficiency caused by soils that are low in pH. This problem can be solved easily.

Andersen says, "To prevent blossom end rot, put lime in the soil to get the pH up and increase calcium ion content in the soil. As long as the plant takes up enough calcium to maintain cell wall integrity of the rapidly growing fruit it won't rot."

Tomatoes may be the most popular vegetable for now, but peppers are gradually edging them out of the top spot.

"Peppers are increasing in popularity," said Andersen. "Go to the grocery store and see what sells more, ketchup or salsa? It's salsa. People eat more spicy foods. It's just a change in dietary preferences."

For information on vegetable production, visit Extension's website, uaex.edu, or contact your county Extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.

Date: 8/23/05