Pepper Breeding in Argentina.

GALMARINI, C.R.

Capsicum & Eggplant Newsletter

University of Turin

Lugar: Turin; Año: 1997 vol. 16 p. 28 - 34

1122-5548

The Capsicum species were originated in America and accepted almost immediately by African,Asiatic and European cultures. As a consequence the crop was spread allover the world. The consumption of fresh peppers (sweet and pungent) and the powders and sauces derived from them has increased in the last decades in many countries. Argentina has not been an exception to this pattern. The production area of peppers,particularly the one grown under protected cultivation, has increased quickly. The dehydration industry has a good market and demands cultivars adapted to its requirements. The pharmaceutical industry is interested in cultivars with high capsaicin content. Since the prohibition of synthetic colorants, the interest for Capsicum species as a source of natural colorants has also increased. All these reasons in addition to the incidence of diseases and pests that reduced dramatically the yields in certain regions, contribute to support pepper breeding efforts in our country. Despite of the importance of pepper few breeding programs have been supported; the most important is been held by the National Institute for Agricultural Technology (INTA) at La Consulta Experiment Station.