A recently-introduced variety of pepper is being touted for commercial success due to its combination of pungency and nematode resistance.
The super-hot, bright orange TigerPaw-NR habanero has undergone three years of greenhouse and field tests. It is said to be the first commercial habanero pepper resistant to attack by microscopic, soil dwelling worms known as root-knot nematodes.
The pepper gets its name from its tiger-paw-like appearance, with ‘NR’ standing for ‘nematode resistant’.
The variety is described as effective against the southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, the peanut root-knot nematode M. arenaria and the tropical root-knot nematode M. javanica.
Scientists used conventional breeding to move the gene for this resistance, known as the ‘N’ gene from a parent plant into what became today’s TigerPaw-NR.
The Scoville Heat Scale has scored TigerPaw-NR a feisty 348,634, compared to 3,500-5,000 for ordinary jalapenos and 100,000 for habaneros.
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