06/27/1994

Multi-Colored Peppers Soon to Brighten Fields of Sand Mountain

CROSSVILLE, Ala. - A rainbow of colored bell peppers could lead to a pot of gold for Alabama vegetable producers, according to researchers at the Sand Mountain Substation in Crossville.

Auburn University horticulture specialists are testing the performance of red, yellow, orange and other colored pepper varieties under Alabama's growing conditions. Since unusually colored peppers cost up to four times more than traditional green peppers, there is tremendous profit potential for the state's farmers if the multi-hued vegetables perform well here.

About 50 area vegetable producers and home gardeners were told of this and other projects at the substation's recent Vegetable Field Day. Sand Mountain is a unit of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, which is based at Auburn University.

Auburn horticulture researcher Eric Simonne said his study will compare the performance of orange, yellow, red, white, ivory, brown, light purple and dark purple varieties of bell peppers. The experimental plot of multi-colored peppers is expected to bear fruit in mid-July.

"The primary objective is to test the horticultural performance of these peppers under Alabama's growing conditions," Simonne explained to field day participants. "We want to determine not only how well the peppers grow, but also whether they actually develop vivid colors and how long the colors last."

In a follow-up to the field study, Simonne's wife, Amy Simonne, will screen each variety to determine its nutritional quality. Mrs. Simonne, a researcher in the AU Department of Nutrition and Food Science, said she hopes to find out which color of pepper contains the highest levels of vitamins A and C.

Other studies will include cooking trials to analyze how well the vitamin content is maintained, as well as surveys to determine consumer acceptance of some of the more unusual colored peppers.

Also at the field day, participants viewed the use of "biological control" of vegetable pests, a system that relies on beneficial, natural organisms, as opposed to synthetic chemical pesticides.

AU plant pathologist Ed Sikora is testing the use on snap beans of Kodiak, the first biological fungicide. Kodiak, the development of which was based in part on Auburn research, contains beneficial bacteria that are applied on seed. The bacteria, which are harmless to humans, grow as plant root systems develop, protecting the snap beans from fungal disease.

"As more and more synthetic pesticides are banned over the next 10-15 years, biological control products such as Kodiak will become increasingly important," Sikora said.

AU entomologist Geoff Zehnder is testing the effectiveness of a biological insecticide for controlling the Colorado potato beetle, which can defoliate fields of Irish potatoes. This insecticide relies on a bacterially produced protein that is toxic to insects but harmless to humans.

According to Zehnder, the technology now exists to genetically engineer potato plants to produce these toxins. However, if all plants produced the toxins, the beetles would soon become resistant. To help prevent breeding resistant insects, seed producers would likely sell a random mixture of genetically enhanced and normal potato seeds, the entomologist said.

Researchers simulated this mixture by spraying some potato plants with the bacterial protein while leaving others untreated in the same field at the substation. Zehnder said he hopes to determine whether this method effectively controls potato beetle populations.

Other projects on the tour included studies of the effects of early and late planting dates on tomatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons; a green bell pepper variety test; an effort to develop more precise fertilizer recommendations for sweet corn; an irrigation scheduling test for squash; and a demonstration of methods to produce early corn.

In addition to Simonne, Sikora and Zehnder, other field day speakers included Substation Superintendent John Eason; James Brown and Joe Kemble, both faculty in the AU Department of Horticulture; Beth Guertal of the Department of Agronomy and Soils; and Dan Porch of the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Robyn Hearn

June 27, 1994