The

Chile Pepper Institute e3 err E n m

Amazing Amazon Adventure I I ~ ~ ~ e v y Issue By Paul W. Bosland

Recipe 4 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 "yellow- flowered" 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 "yel- low-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 ! b

em Amazonian Peru. It was created by a I .-I- . partnership in 1990 between the Peruvian 1. : ' government, local grassroots organizations,

. . I . > and international conservation organiza-

Inside 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 1 most of the watershed of the ~ a m b o ~ a t a i C'hile Pots ~ i v e r . The Tambopata National Reserve

Task Update protects habitats ranging from the Andean . . i ~bighlands around the rivers' headwaters

-am- - .r- through 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%

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 para- dise 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 interest- ing 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

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Page 2 Amazon 1 AMAZON, CONT. FROM P.l

the yards were usually the chile pepper known as "Aji Native Americans in New Mexico heal with song and Pinguita de Mono,"(little monkey dick chile), a C. ceremony. He said the deceased shaman had used his frutescens type. After strolling the streets of Puerto hands and songs to heal, too. Sadly, he said the shaman Maldonado, I loaded into one of the three-wheeled moto- had died before teaching another individual in the taxis that ply the city streets and headed to the farmer's community. Now, the individual from his community market. The open-air vendors were selling fresh and who is becoming the next shaman, was learning from a dried chile peppers. The bins were full of big, beautiful, shaman in a neighboring community where hallucino- fresh and dried 'Aji Amarillo', a C. baccatum type genic plants were used for spiritual guidance, a practice reaching 10-1 1 inches long, and in a gorgeous opulent not included in Rodolfo's community. He hopes that one orange color. I could already taste the ceviche! In day a young person will addition, there was a chile pepper called "plastic aji." I step forward from his community with a calling to learn asked the vendor why they called it "plastic aji," and he and study how to heal like past shaman's without the looked at me as if I was stupid, and said "that's its hallucinogenic plants. name!" It turned out to be a C. annuum, that would be The next morning, we returned to the canoe and called a guajillo in Mexico. It has the luxuriant luster of continued our journey to the Tambopata Research the guajillo chile peppers, and it was easy to see why Center. they had called it the plastic aji. Another very interesting Before leaving Posadas Amazonas, Rodolfo showed fresh chile pepper being sold in the marketplace was one me the cook's prized chile plant. The cook called it called "fish-eye." It was a C. ch~nense type. The fruits "Corazon de Pollo" or "Chicken Heart" because the fruit were small, about the size of a ch~ltepin (or the size of a was the size and shape of a chicken heart. When I fish-eye?), and the fruits went from a green to a yellow- looked closely at the flowers and the plant, it seemed to orange color as they ripened. They were veryhot, and L me to be a C. frutescens pod type. was told they were used to season fish dishes. As we followed the forested shore, there was ample

After exploring Puerto Maldonado, it was off to the time to reflect on my first visit to this rainforest and take preserve. The big challenge was how to get there. There in the sights along the riverbank. There were women 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 out- board motor, the sound of Puerto Maldonado gradually I 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 The Rivers edge in Posadas Amazonas. medicinal purposes. Rodolfo is a charismatic young man with mischievous charm radiating from his eyes. He washing clothes, boys and girls with bright, dark eyes quickly demonstrated his formidable knowledge of the laughing and playing on the shore, and everywhere a rainforest. I was in awe of his expert knowledge about verdant landscape. Families were puttering by in their the wildlife and plants in the area, if anyone could help canoes, transporting branches of bananas to Puerto me find chile peppers, it would be him. Maldonado. When we reached the Tambopata Research

The first night at Posadas Amazonas, I sat with Center, we clambered up the red riverbank mud to be Rodolfo and shared refreshments. I listened with child- greeted by the cook and his children. The facility was like fascination as he told me his story of how his com- rustic, but well maintained, and offered the needed munity had lost their shaman or medicine man. The conveniences. shaman's main activity is to heal rifts between the Each day, early in the morning and then in the after- physical world and the spiritual. I told him about how the noon, I walked the trails in the rainforest, sometimes

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I

Amazon

knee-deep in mud, hoping for a capsicum plant. The Geographic Magazine. The clay licks are forests surrounding Tambopata Research Center are deposits of minerals that are scarce in the rainforest, uncommon because there are four types: terraced where birds come to obtain these scarce minerals. floodplain forest, terra firma forest, bamboo forest, and Macaws and parrots come to the clay lick not only to Mauritia palm swamps. You never smell plain air in a obtain the minerals, but also to eat the clay. The clay swamp, you smell the tang of mud, the sourness of neutralizes the toxic fruits and seeds that they consume. rotting leaves, the cool musk of new leaves and the Scientists also hypothesize that macaws come to social- perfumes of a rich and living ecosystem. ize and exchange information as they gather around the

This was rough country, but with a beauty unto itself. clay lick. The average macaw lives for 70 years. As Rodolfo and I waded small streams and scrambled up That morning, scores of parrots and macaws flocked banks, beautiful blue Morpho butterflies fluttered by. to the clay lick. Six species of macaws, blue-and-gold, Each day as we went deeper and deeper into the red-and-green, scarlet, red-bellied, chestnut-fronted and rainforest, Rodolfo would point out the medicinal herbs blue-headed came to the clay lick. In addition, several that were growing, but never did we spy the capsicum species of parrots, parakeets and parrotlets also came. plant. There in the rainforest, clambering noisily through The steep bank had become a pulsating palette of red, the forest were Brown Capuchin, Squirrel Monkeys, blue, yellow and green as more than a thousand birds Dusky Titi, Red Howler Monkeys and Saddleback squabbled over choice perches. Tamarins. After three days, I packed my travel bags and be-

That night, with paraffin candles lighting my room, I grudgingly trudged to the canoe. Soon we were on the was filled with anticipation because tomorrow morning, river again, heading back to Puerto Maldonado. As we we were going to visit the famous macaw clay lick. gazed in silence at the capybara family eating along the

Chile peppeG'would . shoreline, I knew the trip had been worthwhile. Even have to wait that though, I never saw the yellow-flowered chile pepper, I morning. far succeeded my quest. We know the importance of

The next morning we birds to the dispersal of chile peppers. Here was an- set off at 4:30 a.m. to other important biological interrelationship occurring see the macaw clay between plants and animals. The macaws consume lick, known locally in toxic fruits, but because of the clay are able to detoxify Quechua, as "collpas." the fruits. The macaw clay lick is During my stay, I saw many interesting plants and a huge, 150-foot tall animals. If you have the urge to vlew this part of the cliff of reddish clay that beautiful Amazonian rainforest, then the Tambopata extends for about 1,500 Research Center is for you. The Tambopata Research feet along the west bank Center is run by Rainforest Expeditions, They are a of the Tambopata River. Peruvian ecotourism company founded in 1992 by The macaw clay lick Eduardo Nycander and Kurt Holle with the purpose of was made famous by providing authentic educational experiences that sup- photographer Franz port the conservation of the areas where they operate.

Macaws eating clay. photos by Paul Bosland. Lanting in the January

1994 issue of National Check out www.perunature.com for more information.

The Chile Pepper Institute Newsletter Paul W. Bosland, Director John Whlte - NMSU CES Dr. Paul Bosland & Danise Coon - Product~on Danise Coon, Program Coordinator Rlch Ph~llips - NMSU Chile Task Force Chris Coon - EditoriWriter Ed Curry - Curry Seed Company The Chile Pepper Institute The Chile Pepper Institute New Mexico State University Box 30003, MSC 3Q Board of Directors Ex. Officio Directors Las Cruces, NM 88003 Emma Jean Cervantes - Cervantes Enterprise Dr. Jerry Schickedanz - Dean CAHE (505)646-3028 Louis Biad - Biad Chile Dr. James F~sher - Head Dept. Ag/Hort (505)646-6041 fax Dave De Wilt - Fiery Foods Mag. Dr. LeRoy Daugherty - Ag. Exp. Stat http://www.chilepepper~nst~tute.org Wendy Hamilton, NMSU Extension

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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.

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

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

pot from top y and into PVC pipe, fertilizing 1 every 2 weeks during the growing sea- son. Don't forget to bring your pot inside at the end of the season to avoid freeze damage. Seeds of these color- ful ornamentals are available form the Chile Pepper Institute.

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

- 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. - 3/4 pound of Lightly toss the fish, pepper mixture, arugula and red onion. red snapper Adjust the seasoning, adding salt and black pepper as sliced M y necessary. Lightly place a mound of the mixture and

I bell pepper

bell pepper / . @ - 1 large yellow

Pane 5 - I Chile 'lask F'orce Coordinates F'arm Labor seminar I

By: Jan Brydon

On March 4,2004, regional farmers and labor contractors had the opportunity to step into the shoes of a U.S. Depart- ment of Labor inspector as he inspected a fictional farm in Southern New Mexico. The exercise was part of an Agri- cultural Employers' Seminar, coordinated by the New Mexico Chile Task Force, to help growers, packing shed operators and labor contractors better understand regula- tions that govern their businesses from soliciting farm workers to providing water and sanitary facilities to keep- ing accurate records. Employers were able to ask questions about situations that they encounter on the job and how labor regulations apply. Some of the questions asked

from the Occupational Safety and Health Administra- tion (OSHA); N.M. Department of Agriculture, Pesti- cide Bureau; La Clinica; N.M. Mandated New Hire Directory; Texas Migrant Council; N.M. Taxation and Revenue Department; U.S. Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Social Security Administration; the Department of Homeland Security (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service) and New Mexico Environment Depart- ment.

At the end of the seminar, there was

included: a round- table

Q: "Can my wife help me recruit farm workers?" discussion A: Your wife must be registered with the U.S. Department to address Fa, laborer harvestrng red chi[e, of Labor. Farm labor contractors must have their registra- tion card available for inspection upon request from a representative of the U.S. Department of Labor and/or ,., anyone with whom they intend to conduct business. :

Q: "Can I hire a family with 10-12-year-old children? A: Children 12-1 3-years-old may work with their parents' written permission when school is not is session. Fourteen and 15-year-olds may be employed without parental consent, when school is not in session. You may not employ anyone younger than 12 as an agricultural worker unless they will be working on an exempt farm. To find out if the farm is exempt, contractors should contact the Department of Labor.

Q: I often have 50 workers in a field. I provide two portable toilets for these workers. Do I also need to provide hand wash- ing facilities? A: You must provide one toilet for each 20 workers - so for 50 workers, you must provide three toilets. You also must provide one hand washing facility with single-use towels and potable water for every 20 workers. Facilities must be in close proximity to toilets.

During the daylong seminar, participants also had the opportunity to update their knowledge of social security and payroll tax requirements, new hire regulations, Home- land Security and healthlsafety information. To provide up- to-date, accurate information, representatives were present

- concerns of those who employ workers in packing shed or other processing operations.

The Agricultural Employers' Workshop was spon- sored by New Mexico State University, the N.M. Chile Commission, the N.M. Onion Commission, the N.M. Departments of Agriculture and Labor, and the South- ern Area Health Education Center. It was part of the Chile Task Force's ongoing effort to increase profitability of the chile industry by improving farm labor employers' management practices. The workshop's goals included reducing the number of fines received by contractors and growers for labor regulation violations and minimizing the adverse publicity associated with labor law violations. More than 800 labor contractors and growers and processors of chile, onions and pecans were invited to this event.

"Every year contractors and growers are subject to fines and lost productivity when regulations are misun- derstood or overlooked," said Richard Phillips, task force manager. "By providing the opportunity for contractors and representatives from regulatory agen- cies to communicate at the beginning of the growing season, we hope to avoid many of the problems that have occurred in the past."

Rich Phillips noted that the goal in coordinating this workshop was to enhance the efficiency and profitabil- ity of agriculture in southern New Mexico, while ensuring a safe environment for agricultural workers.

PAGE 6 Capsicum News

C A P S I C U M N E W S Capsaicin May Reduce Salmonella in Poultry

Virginia Tech is currently researching the potential of chile peppers to aid in the reduction of salmo- nella in poultry. The research began with the pur- chase 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 Salmo- nella enteritidis to the chicks at 21,28, and 42 days

of age. She found that both the low and the high levels of capsaicin in- creased 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 evalu- ation 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 inflam- mation might make it more difficult for the Salmo- nella 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

Capsaicin Nasal Spray Relieves Chronic Sinus Problems

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 conges- tion 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 I

CPI Website

The Chile Pepper Institute Website will be welcoming the addition of the proceedings of the European Associa- tion 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.

Burning Questions PAGE

B U R N I N G Q U E S T I O N S Q. Less than a year back, I was introduced to this little red, Q. it possible for C. annuum round, wild chile here in the Safford, Arizona area. A chinense? fellow fan turned me on to your website, but I found no mention of Chile Tepin- only the Chile Piquin, seemingly A. In nature it is a very rare occurrence, however, plant the first cousin of Tepin. Where can I get seed of Chile breeders do it all the time. C. chinense has been a great Tepin. source of virus resistance in chile pepper breeding.

A. Chile Tepin, also referred to as chiltepin, is a wild Q. I had senanos and Thai chiles planted next to each Capsicum annuum P chllte~in is round, while the piquin other in my garden and my serranos were unbelievably is "bullet-shaped." hot. Did planting the Thai chiles next to them make The chiltepin is r them hotter? found growing from South A. This 'urban legend' is an impossible incident. Many America to home gardeners believe that planting hot peppers next southern Arizona. to sweet peppers will make the sweet peppers hot, or Seed packets of even planting hotter peppers next to mild or medium chiltepin and peppers will make the milder variety hotter. This is 'NuMex Bailey impossible in the first season. Only if the gardener Piquin' are saves the seed and plants it next season will there be the available from the Wild Chile Piquin. possibility of getting a hot sweet pepper or a hotter CPI. . 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 IS YOUR LABEL RED?

different reasons including disease or temperature (was it IT'S TIME TO RENEW!

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 treat- ments. 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 Ameri- can Phytopathological Society National meeting in

Dr. LeKoy Uaugherly, NMAU Ab3 &rector presents Gabe Anaheim CA. Thank you Chile Pepper Institute and with the Chile Confer-ence Award of Excellence. Agricultural Experiment Station for this award.