New Mexico No. 9, also known as NuMex No. 9, Number 9 pepper or simply No. 9, was the first of the New Mexican chile pod types of

chile peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

. It is an heirloom chile, grown today only in special quantities in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States. It was also the first New Mexico chile cultivar to be bred for commercial growth. It was released to growers in 1913 by Mexican-American horticulturist

Dr. Fabián García Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

, who began selecting local breeds in 1894 for improvement. The No. 9 helped to cement chile as a staple food of

New Mexican cuisine New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México. This cuisi ...

History

Chile peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

have been a staple of cuisine in the

southwest United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for centuries. In 1888, the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (NMA&MA, now known as New Mexico State University) began a chile improvement program to improve crop yields and disease resistance in chile plants for the farmers of the region. Horticulturist

began selecting breeds from around southern

and northern

in 1894, improving the local chiles grown by the Hispanic gardeners around Las Cruces. Historically, chiles varied widely in their yield and piquancy, and farmers had little control or prediction of these genetic variables. He selected 14 chile accessions growing in the region around Las Cruces of pasilla (dark brown), colorado (red or "colorful"), and negro (black) pod types, with the purpose of creating a milder chile for consumption by Anglo settlers, and also to produce a chile that was "larger, smoother, fleshier, more tapering and included a shoulder-less pod for canning purposes." After eliminating other candidate cultivars, 'No. 9' had "proven to be the best". According to Dr. García: and Dr García released 'No. 9' seeds to farmers in 1913, standard pod size and a uniform heat level. It became the standard chile in

until 1950, and also helped to establish the Mexican food industry in the United States. It is the cultivar from which all modern

New Mexico chile New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile (Scientific name: ''Capsicum annuum'' 'New Mexico Group'; es, chile de Nuevo México, ) is a cultivar group of the chile pepper from the US state of New Mexico, first grown by Pueblo and Hispano communitie ...

pod type cultivars descend.

References

{{New Mexico Capsicum cultivars Chili peppers Crops originating from North America Fruit vegetables Mexican cuisine

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

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