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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #202263
Title: 'TigerPaw-NR', a Root-Knot Nematode Resistant, Habanero-type Pepper

Author
item Fery, Richard
item Thies, Judy

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2007
Publication Date: 12/7/2007
Citation: Fery, R.L., Thies, J.A. 2007. 'TigerPaw-NR', a Root-Knot Nematode Resistant, Habanero-type Pepper. HortScience. 42(7):1721-1722.

Interpretive Summary: Most peppers grown in the United States belong to the species Capsicum annuum. However, the increasing popularity of hot peppers has created intense interest in the Habanero, a type of pepper that belongs to another domesticated Capsicum species, C. chinense. Habanero-type peppers are some of the world’s most pungent peppers. Root-knot nematodes are major pests of Habanero-type peppers. The ideal solution to this pest problem would be the use of resistant cultivars, but none of the Habanero-type cultivars heretofore available to U.S. growers are resistant. In 1995, efforts were initiated at the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, S.C., to transfer a root-knot nematode resistance gene from a Scotch Bonnet-type pepper into the Habanero-type pepper. These efforts resulted in the 9 Jan. 2006 release of the root-knot nematode resistant cultivar TigerPaw-NR. The fruit and yield characteristics of TigerPaw-NR are comparable to those of currently available Habanero-type cultivars. ‘TigerPaw-NR’ is recommended for use by both commercial growers and home gardeners. In light of the future restrictions on the use of methyl bromide in the U.S. to fumigate soils, the development of a resistant cultivar is critical for continued production of Habanero-type peppers in areas where soils are infested with root-knot nemtodes.

Technical Abstract: The USDA-ARS has released a new Habanero-type pepper cultivar named TigerPaw-NR. The new cultivar is the product of a conventional recurrent backcross breeding procedure to transfer a dominant root-knot nematode resistance gene from the Scotch Bonnet accession PA-426 into the Habanero-type accession PA-350. TigerPaw-NR was derived from a single F3BC4 plant grown in 2002. TigerPaw-NR is homozygous for a dominant gene conditioning a high level of resistance to the southern root-knot nematode, the peanut root-knot nematode, and the tropical root-knot nematode. TigerPaw-NR has a compact plant habit and produces attractive,lantern-shaped, orange-colored fruit. The results of three replicated field studies conducted at Charleston, S.C., indicate that the fruit and yield characteristics of TigerPaw-NR are comparable to those of currently available Habanero-type cultivars. A typical fruit weighs 7.8 g, is 2.7 cm wide x 4.4 cm long, and is extremely pungent (348,634 Scoville heat units). Root-knot nematodes are major pests of peppers in the United States, and all Habanero-type cultivars heretofore available to commercial growers and home gardeners are susceptible. The root-knot nematode resistant TigerPaw-NR is recommended for use by both commercial growers and home gardeners. Protection for TigerPaw-NR is being sought under the Plant Variety Protection Act.