Spring - The Chile Pepper Institute

The
Chile Pepper Institute
err
n
E
m
e3
Amazing Amazon Adventure
By Paul W. Bosland
II~
~ ~ eIssue
v y
In March 2003, I had the opportunity to
travel to the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest to
Capsicum News
6
search for a wild chile pepper that had not
been seen for more than 50 years. In 1948,
Burning Questions
Professor Paul G . Smith saw a "yellowflowered" capsicu6 during his visit to the
Puerto Maldonado area of the Peruvian
Amazon. Today, Puerta'Maldonat)~is the
bustling capital city of ;he state of Midre
de Dios. AS a consequence of growth, the
entire rainforest has been cut down. It
appeared that chances of finding the "yellow-flowered" chile pepper at Puerto
Maldonado were nil.
Fortunately, the Peruvian Government has
set aside a large wilderness preserve, the
Tambopata National Reserve, to preserve
7 the plants and animals of the region. The
Tambopata National Reserve is part of a 3.7
er
million-acre conservation unit in southeast[ 1
em Amazonian Peru. It was created by a
!b
I
.-I-. partnership in 1990 between the Peruvian
1. :
government, local grassroots organizations,
I
. >
and international conservation organizaInside This Issue tions. This reserve protects the biological
L
diversity of the entire watersheds of the
I Amazon Adventure
1 Tavara and Candamo Rivers, along with
most of the watershed of the ~ a m b o ~ a t a
1
i
C'hile Pots
~ i v e rThe
. Tambopata National Reserve
Task
Update
protects habitats ranging from the Andean
..
i ~bighlandsaround the rivers' headwaters
-amthrough some of the last remaining intact
4
cloud forests to the lowland rainforests of
the Amazon basin. More than 1,300 bird
species (including 32 parrot species - 10%
Recipe
4
'
..
.r-
of the world's total), 200 mammal species, 90
frog species, 1,200 butterfly species and 10,000
species of higher plants are protected within this
reserve.
Within the Tambopata National Reserve is the
Tambopata
Research Center,
a study site for
macaws and
parrots. The
Tambopata
Research Center
is the nucleus of
the preserve and
a birder's paradise famous for
its clay licks.
I really did not know whether this rainforest
would have capsicums or not, but the opportunity
to visit a prime amazonian wilderness was too
good to pass up. However, first a look around
Puerto Maldonado was in order. I had no idea
whether or not there would be anything interesting from a geneticist's point-of-view, but a walk
around town looking at front yards and porches
couldn't hurt. Puerto Maldonado locals did tend
to have a
chile
pepper
plant or
two in
their
gardens. I
noticed
that the
chile
plants in
dick chile.
PLEASE SEE AMAZON. P. 2
-
-
-
Page 2
Amazon
AMAZON, CONT. FROM P.l
the yards were usually the chile pepper known as "Aji
Pinguita de Mono,"(little monkey dick chile), a C.
frutescens type. After strolling the streets of Puerto
Maldonado, I loaded into one of the three-wheeled mototaxis that ply the city streets and headed to the farmer's
market. The open-air vendors were selling fresh and
dried chile peppers. The bins were full of big, beautiful,
fresh and dried 'Aji Amarillo', a C. baccatum type
reaching 10-11 inches long, and in a gorgeous opulent
orange color. I could already taste the ceviche! In
addition, there was a chile pepper called "plastic aji." I
asked the vendor why they called it "plastic aji," and he
looked at me as if I was stupid, and said "that's its
name!" It turned out to be a C. annuum, that would be
called a guajillo in Mexico. It has the luxuriant luster of
the guajillo chile peppers, and it was easy to see why
they had called it the plastic aji. Another very interesting
fresh chile pepper being sold in the marketplace was one
called "fish-eye." It was a C. ch~nensetype. The fruits
were small, about the size of a ch~ltepin(or the size of a
fish-eye?), and the fruits went from a green to a yelloworange color as they ripened. They were veryhot, and L
was told they were used to season fish dishes.
After exploring Puerto Maldonado, it was off to the
preserve. The big challenge was how to get there. There
is no bus, train, or plane to the Tambopata National
Reserve. The highway from Puerto Maldonado to the
Tambopata National Reserve is the river the "Madre de
Dios." As we set out in a wooden canoe with an outboard motor, the sound of Puerto Maldonado gradually
fell away. The trip would take at least eight hours
because of its remote location. We would travel to
Posadas Amazonas for the first night, after a two-hour
boat ride, then continue on in the morning.
My guide was Senior Rodolfo Pesha, an indigenous
person from the Esa'eja community. In fact, his father
still goes into the rainforest to harvest plants for food and
medicinal purposes. Rodolfo is a charismatic young man
with mischievous charm radiating from his eyes. He
quickly demonstrated his formidable knowledge of the
rainforest. I was in awe of his expert knowledge about
the wildlife and plants in the area, if anyone could help
me find chile peppers, it would be him.
The first night at Posadas Amazonas, I sat with
Rodolfo and shared refreshments. I listened with childlike fascination as he told me his story of how his community had lost their shaman or medicine man. The
shaman's main activity is to heal rifts between the
physical world and the spiritual. I told him about how the
Native Americans in New Mexico heal with song and
ceremony. He said the deceased shaman had used his
hands and songs to heal, too. Sadly, he said the shaman
had died before teaching another individual in the
community. Now, the individual from his community
who is becoming the next shaman, was learning from a
shaman in a neighboring community where hallucinogenic plants were used for spiritual guidance, a practice
not included in Rodolfo's community. He hopes that one
day a young person will
step forward from his community with a calling to learn
and study how to heal like past shaman's without the
hallucinogenic plants.
The next morning, we returned to the canoe and
continued our journey to the Tambopata Research
Center.
Before leaving Posadas Amazonas, Rodolfo showed
me the cook's prized chile plant. The cook called it
"Corazon de Pollo" or "Chicken Heart" because the fruit
was the size and shape of a chicken heart. When I
looked closely at the flowers and the plant, it seemed to
me to be a C.frutescens pod type.
As we followed the forested shore, there was ample
time to reflect on my first visit to this rainforest and take
in the sights along the riverbank. There were women
I
The Rivers edge in Posadas Amazonas.
washing clothes, boys and girls with bright, dark eyes
laughing and playing on the shore, and everywhere a
verdant landscape. Families were puttering by in their
canoes, transporting branches of bananas to Puerto
Maldonado. When we reached the Tambopata Research
Center, we clambered up the red riverbank mud to be
greeted by the cook and his children. The facility was
rustic, but well maintained, and offered the needed
conveniences.
Each day, early in the morning and then in the afternoon, I walked the trails in the rainforest, sometimes
1
-
- - - I
Amazon
knee-deep in mud, hoping for a capsicum plant. The
forests surrounding Tambopata Research Center are
uncommon because there are four types: terraced
floodplain forest, terra firma forest, bamboo forest, and
Mauritia palm swamps. You never smell plain air in a
swamp, you smell the tang of mud, the sourness of
rotting leaves, the cool musk of new leaves and the
perfumes of a rich and living ecosystem.
This was rough country, but with a beauty unto itself.
As Rodolfo and I waded small streams and scrambled up
banks, beautiful blue Morpho butterflies fluttered by.
Each day as we went deeper and deeper into the
rainforest, Rodolfo would point out the medicinal herbs
that were growing, but never did we spy the capsicum
plant. There in the rainforest, clambering noisily through
the forest were Brown Capuchin, Squirrel Monkeys,
Dusky Titi, Red Howler Monkeys and Saddleback
Tamarins.
That night, with paraffin candles lighting my room, I
was filled with anticipation because tomorrow morning,
we were going to visit the famous macaw clay lick.
Chile peppeG'would .
have to wait that
morning.
The next morning we
set off at 4:30 a.m. to
see the macaw clay
lick, known locally in
Quechua, as "collpas."
The macaw clay lick is
a huge, 150-foot tall
cliff of reddish clay that
extends for about 1,500
feet along the west bank
of the Tambopata River.
The macaw clay lick
was made famous by
photographer Franz
Macaws eating clay. photos by
Lanting in the January
Paul Bosland.
1994 issue of National
The Chile Pepper Institute Newsletter
Dr. Paul Bosland & Danise Coon - Product~on
Chris Coon - EditoriWriter
The Chile Pepper Institute
Box 30003, MSC 3Q
Las Cruces, NM 88003
(505)646-3028
(505)646-6041 fax
http://www.chilepepper~nst~tute.org
_I
Geographic Magazine. The clay licks are
deposits of minerals that are scarce in the rainforest,
where birds come to obtain these scarce minerals.
Macaws and parrots come to the clay lick not only to
obtain the minerals, but also to eat the clay. The clay
neutralizes the toxic fruits and seeds that they consume.
Scientists also hypothesize that macaws come to socialize and exchange information as they gather around the
clay lick. The average macaw lives for 70 years.
That morning, scores of parrots and macaws flocked
to the clay lick. Six species of macaws, blue-and-gold,
red-and-green, scarlet, red-bellied, chestnut-fronted and
blue-headed came to the clay lick. In addition, several
species of parrots, parakeets and parrotlets also came.
The steep bank had become a pulsating palette of red,
blue, yellow and green as more than a thousand birds
squabbled over choice perches.
After three days, I packed my travel bags and begrudgingly trudged to the canoe. Soon we were on the
river again, heading back to Puerto Maldonado. As we
gazed in silence at the capybara family eating along the
shoreline, I knew the trip had been worthwhile. Even
though, I never saw the yellow-flowered chile pepper, I
far succeeded my quest. We know the importance of
birds to the dispersal of chile peppers. Here was another important biological interrelationship occurring
between plants and animals. The macaws consume
toxic fruits, but because of the clay are able to detoxify
the fruits.
During my stay, I saw many interesting plants and
animals. If you have the urge to vlew this part of the
beautiful Amazonian rainforest, then the Tambopata
Research Center is for you. The Tambopata Research
Center is run by Rainforest Expeditions, They are a
Peruvian ecotourism company founded in 1992 by
Eduardo Nycander and Kurt Holle with the purpose of
providing authentic educational experiences that support the conservation of the areas where they operate.
Check out www.perunature.com for more information.
Paul W. Bosland, Director
Danise Coon, Program Coordinator
The Chile Pepper Institute
Board of Directors
Emma Jean Cervantes - Cervantes Enterprise
Louis Biad - Biad Chile
Dave De Wilt - Fiery Foods Mag.
Wendy Hamilton, NMSU Extension
John Whlte - NMSU CES
Rlch Ph~llips- NMSU Chile Task Force
Ed Curry - Curry Seed Company
New Mexico State University
Ex. Officio Directors
Dr. Jerry Schickedanz - Dean CAHE
Dr. James F~sher- Head Dept. Ag/Hort
Dr. LeRoy Daugherty - Ag. Exp. Stat
Chile Strawberry Pots; A New Use For Ornamentals
Recently, the Chile Pepper Institute embarked on a
potting adventure that resulted in a great new use of
ornamental chlles -growing them in strawberry pots. The
ornamental varieties fared very well planted nicely in the
pot. The following are instructions for the do-it-yourself
potter.
Materials Needed:
- 1 strawberry pot (size to suit taste)
- 3 to 5 upright (plant habit) ornamental chlle plants
3 to 7 spreading (plant habit) ornamental chile plants.
One for each pocket in the pot.
Potting soil
1 PVC pipe !h inch (cut to fit height of pot, it
should reach 1 inch above the bottom of the pot to 1
inch above soil line)
1 - 3-inch X 3-inch wire or cloth mesh
Directions:
Drill '/4 inch holes along the PVC pipe at 4 inches.
This will aide in even water distribution. Place wire
or cloth mesh over the bottom hole, and fill in potting
soil with PVC pipe about an inch from the bottom
hole. Fill in potting soil until soil reaches first pocket.
Place ornamental chile plant in pocket with roots
facing downward and fill in potting soil to stabilize.
Follow these same steps until all pockets have plants.
Plant 2-3 upright plants in the top of the pot, filling in
potting soil. Be sure to leave 1-2 inches at the top of
the pot for good
watering. Water
pot from top
y
and into PVC
pipe, fertilizing
every 2 weeks
during the
growing season. Don't
forget to bring
your pot inside
at the end of
the season to
avoid freeze
damage. Seeds
of these colorful ornamentals
are available
form the Chile
Pepper Institute.
1
Recipe - Red Snapper Ceviche with Three Peppers Salad & Citrus
Dressing
Citrus Dressing
- % CUP fresh lemon juice
- !h CUP fresh lime juice
- 1/2 CUP fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons of garlic flavored oil
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
Combine all the ingredients in the jar of a blender.
Blend until emulsified and creamy. Reserve at room
temperature.
Red Snapper Ceviche
- 3/4 pound of
red snapper
sliced M y
/.
I
bell pepper
@- 1 large yellow
bell pepper
- 1 large aji amarillo
- 1 cup of thinly sliced arugula
- !h red onion, sliced very thin and rinsed with cold
water
Kosher salt and black pepper
In a stainless-steel, ceramic, or enameled dish, combine
the fish with half ofthe citrus dressing. Cover and marinate
for 30 minutes.
Remove the seeds from the peppers, and slice into very
thin strips, no wider than a matchstick.
Toss the peppers with the remaining Citrus Dressing.
Lightly toss the fish, pepper mixture, arugula and red onion.
Adjust the seasoning, adding salt and black pepper as
necessary. Lightly place a mound of the mixture and
-
Pane 5
I
Chile 'lask F'orce Coordinates F'arm Labor seminar
By: Jan Brydon
from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); N.M. Department of Agriculture, PestiOn March 4,2004, regional farmers and labor contractors cide Bureau; La Clinica; N.M. Mandated New Hire
had the opportunity to step into the shoes of a U.S. Depart- Directory; Texas Migrant Council; N.M. Taxation and
Revenue Department; U.S. Internal Revenue Service;
ment of Labor inspector as he inspected a fictional farm in
U.S. Social Security Administration; the Department of
Southern New Mexico. The exercise was part of an AgriHomeland Security (formerly the Immigration and
cultural Employers' Seminar, coordinated by the New
Naturalization Service) and New Mexico Environment
Mexico Chile Task Force, to help growers, packing shed
Departoperators and labor contractors better understand regulament.
tions that govern their businesses from soliciting farm
At the
workers to providing water and sanitary facilities to keeping accurate records. Employers were able to ask questions end of the
seminar,
about situations that they encounter on the job and how
there was
labor regulations apply. Some of the questions asked
included:
a roundtable
discussion
Q: "Can my wife help me recruit farm workers?"
to address Fa, laborer harvestrng
A: Your wife must be registered with the U.S. Department
- red chi[e,
concerns
of Labor. Farm labor contractors must have their registraof those who employ workers in packing shed or other
tion card available for inspection upon request from a
processing operations.
representative of the U.S. Department of Labor and/or ,.
:
The Agricultural Employers' Workshop was sponanyone with whom they intend to conduct business.
sored by New Mexico State University, the N.M. Chile
Commission, the N.M. Onion Commission, the N.M.
Q: "Can I hire a family with 10-12-year-old children?
Departments of Agriculture and Labor, and the SouthA: Children 12-13-years-old may work with their parents'
ern Area Health Education Center.
written permission when school is not is session. Fourteen
It was part of the Chile Task Force's ongoing effort to
and 15-year-olds may be employed without parental
consent, when school is not in session. You may not employ increase profitability of the chile industry by improving
farm labor employers' management practices. The
anyone younger than 12 as an agricultural worker unless
workshop's goals included reducing the number of
they will be working on an exempt farm. To find out if the
fines received by contractors and growers for labor
farm is exempt, contractors should contact the Department
of Labor.
regulation violations and minimizing the adverse
publicity associated with labor law violations. More
Q: I often have 50 workers in a field. I provide two portable than 800 labor contractors and growers and processors
toilets for these workers. Do I also need to provide hand wash- of chile, onions and pecans were invited to this event.
ing facilities?
"Every year contractors and growers are subject to
A: You must provide one toilet for each 20 workers - so for fines and lost productivity when regulations are misunderstood or overlooked," said Richard Phillips, task
50 workers, you must provide three toilets. You also must
force manager. "By providing the opportunity for
provide one hand washing facility with single-use towels
and potable water for every 20 workers. Facilities must be
contractors and representatives from regulatory agenin close proximity to toilets.
cies to communicate at the beginning of the growing
season, we hope to avoid many of the problems that
During the daylong seminar, participants also had the
have occurred in the past."
opportunity to update their knowledge of social security
Rich Phillips noted that the goal in coordinating this
and payroll tax requirements, new hire regulations, Homeworkshop was to enhance the efficiency and profitabilland Security and healthlsafety information. To provide up- ity of agriculture in southern New Mexico, while
to-date, accurate information, representatives were present
ensuring a safe environment for agricultural workers.
I
PAGE 6
Capsicum News
CAPSICUM NEWS
Capsaicin May Reduce Salmonella in
Poultry
Capsaicin Nasal Spray Relieves Chronic
Sinus Problems
Virginia Tech is currently researching the potential
of chile peppers to aid in the reduction of salmonella in poultry. The research began with the purchase of 1,530 commercial meat chicks, which were
divided into three groups. Each group was fed a
standard corn and soybean meal-based diet for 42
days.
Audrey McElroy, assistant professor of poultry
science, fed the plain feed to the first group, but
added five parts per million of pure capsaicin to the
feed of the second group, and 20 parts per million to
the third group's feed. She then administered Salmonella enteritidis to the chicks at 21,28, and 42 days
of age. She found that
both the low and the high
levels of capsaicin increased resistance to the
Sulinonella without
adversely affecting feed
consumption, weight
gain, or the taste of the
chicken when cooked.
W h a t we saw from our
initial microscopic evaluation is that the capsaicin
appears to cause a very
mild inflammation in the
intestines," McElroy said.
One theory she's investigating is the possibility
that the presence of the capsaicin-induced inflammation might make it more difficult for the Salmonella to bind to the intestinal cells and to branch out
to invade the blood, liver, and spleen. Or, "it may be
that the capsaicin acts on the intestine to recruit
immune cells, which then fight off the Salmonella,"
she stated.
McElroy said the current research is designed to
evaluate any observable effects of capsaicin directly
on Salmonella in laboratory conditions, the effects
of capsaicin on the intestinal environment, and the
most economical scheme of feeding capsaicin to
commercial poultry.
Yirginia tech News Release 8/2001
Wayne Perry, a self-defense instructor who suffered
from chronic headaches for 20 years, accidentally
discovered a cure when he volunteered to be sprayed by
pepper spray in order to help promote its effectiveness in
self-defense. Of course the expected effects were awful,
but Perry quickly realized that his headache and congestion had been completely relieved, thanks to the chile
extract in the spray. Thus, The Sinus Buster- was born.
Perry's all-natural, capsaicin-based formula has since
been proven to relieve congestion, allergy symptoms,
cluster and migraine headaches, and sinus infections. It
even fights allergy triggers like alcohol, smoke, dry heat
and pollen. Perry claims The Sinus Btlster is the most
powerful nasal spray in the world (and indeed it is the
only nasal spray with natural capsaicin). To find out for
yourself, visit www.sinusbuster.com.
FI-om.fiery-foods.com
<
EUCARPIA Proceedings to be Included in
CPI Website
The Chile Pepper Institute Website will be welcoming
the addition of the proceedings of the European Association For Research On Plant Breeding (EUCARP1A)- of
Capsicum & Eggplant Newsletter, to its website. The
first EUCARPIA meeting was held in Torino, Italy in
1971. Every three years since, another meeting has been
held that discusses the latest research in breeding and
genetics of Capsicum and Eggplant from all over the
world. The proceedings are the only published account
from these meetings and include all of the lectures and
poster abstracts presented at the meetings. To download
articles in pdf format go to
www.chilepepperinstitute.org/EUCARPIA.htm.
Graduate Student wins coveted Award of
Excellence at 2004 Chile Conference
Gabe Luwig, graduate student in the Entomology,
Plant Pathology, and Weed Science Department at
NMSU was awarded best graduate research poster at the
continued, p. 7.
I
Burning Questions
PAGE
BURNING QUESTIONS
Q. Less than a year back, I was introduced to this little red,
round, wild chile here in the Safford, Arizona area. A
fellow fan turned me on to your website, but I found no
mention of Chile Tepin- only the Chile Piquin, seemingly
the first cousin of Tepin. Where can I get seed of Chile
Tepin.
A. Chile Tepin, also referred to as chiltepin, is a wild
Capsicum annuum
chllte~inis round, while the piquin
is "bullet-shaped."
The chiltepin is
found growing
from South
America to
southern Arizona.
Seed packets of
chiltepin and
'NuMex Bailey
Piquin' are
available from the Wild Chile Piquin.
CPI.
.
r
P
it possible for C. annuum
chinense?
Q.
A. In nature it is a very rare occurrence, however, plant
breeders do it all the time. C. chinense has been a great
source of virus resistance in chile pepper breeding.
Q. I had senanos and Thai chiles planted next to each
other in my garden and my serranos were unbelievably
hot. Did planting the Thai chiles next to them make
them hotter?
A. This 'urban legend' is an impossible incident. Many
home gardeners believe that planting hot peppers next
to sweet peppers will make the sweet peppers hot, or
even planting hotter peppers next to mild or medium
peppers will make the milder variety hotter. This is
impossible in the first season. Only if the gardener
saves the seed and plants it next season will there be the
possibility of getting a hot sweet pepper or a hotter
senano.
Q. A couple of my serranos dried to a very bright orange. Is
this normal?
A. First, did they dry on the plant or off of the plant? If they
dried to the orange color on the plant, there could be several
different reasons including disease or temperature (was it
cool and later in the season?) If it dried orange after you
picked it, then it was not in the final stages of ripening
when it was picked.
2004 New Mexico Chile Conference. "It was very
rewarding to win the AES poster a ward this year," said
Ludwig. His research topic was the effect of brassica
crop residues on verticillium wilt and phytophthora root
rot in chiles. Previous research in Salinas Valley, CA.,
has shown significant reductions in Verticillium
propapiles in the soil with broccoli crop residue treatments. The experiments conducted in Mesilla Valley,
N.M., are designed to investigate a reduction in diseases
caused by both Vet-ticillium and Phytophthoru using
brassica crop residues.
The award inluded a $1,000 travel stipend. This will
give Gabe the chance to present his poster at the American Phytopathological Society National meeting in
Anaheim CA. Thank you Chile Pepper Institute and
Agricultural Experiment Station for this award.
IS YOUR LABEL RED?
IT'S TIME TO RENEW!
Dr. LeKoy Uaugherly, N M A U Ab3 &rector presents Gabe
with the Chile Confer-enceAward of Excellence.