NuMex Joe E. Parker

The name of this cultivar was selected to honor Mr. Joe E. Parker of Las Cruces, a 1950 graduate of NMSU’s College of Agriculture and Home Economics (Bosland et al., 1993). Mr. Parker assisted in evaluating this specific selection. ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ originated as a single plant selection from a field planted to an open- pollinated population of ‘New Mexico 6-4.’ ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ was released in 1990 and is recommended for green and red chile production in southern New Mexico. This cultivar exhibits less variability for horticultural traits than ‘New Mexico 6-4,’ the standard chile cultivar for southern New Mexico. ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ plants have single, strong main stems and are uniformly branched, providing foliage cover for sunscald protection and support for an excellent fruit set. ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ has a plant height between 24 and 30 inches. In addition, there are no significant differences between it and ‘New Mexico 6-4’ for heat levels, fruit width, green fruit color, or days to maturity (149 days). The major features of this cultivar are red chile yield, fruit wall thickness, outstanding mature green chile yield, and red chile yield after a harvest of green fruit, which are all better than ‘New Mexico 6-4.’ The increased fruit set after the first green harvest results in a high “red after green” dry fruit yield, which gives the grower the choice of either continuous picking of a green crop or a green chile harvest followed by a later red fruit harvest. After peeling, a thicker fruit wall produces a higher “pack-out” yield of green chile than thin-walled fruits. ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ has a high percentage (88%) of two locule fruit, a desirable characteristic for canning whole pods. Its 122 ASTA red color is similar to that of ‘New Mexico 6- 4,’ while its heat is in the mild range at 811 SHU. ‘NuMex Joe E. Parker’ is also resistant to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).