Potent Pepper Varieties That You’ll Want To Grow
Breeders keep improving pepper’s yield, marketability, and disease packages. Take a look at these peppers to find the one best suited for your production.
-
-
1 of 18
Caribbean Orange (Terra Organics)
Scoville unit: 100,000 to 350,000
An orange habanero that has a lantern shape. ‘Caribbean Orange’ ripens from green-to-orange. A feature for fresh market. Matures in 90 days.
-
2 of 18
Caribbean Red (Terra Organics)
Scoville unit: 350,000 to 400,000
‘Caribbean Red’ is a red habanero fruit. The peppers average length is 1 to 2 inches. A spicy addition to any fresh market. Matures in 90 days.
-
3 of 18
Catarino (Gowan Seed)
Disease package: IR: X spp (0-3,7,8)
‘Catarino’ is a jumbo-size jalapeno dark-green hybrid pepper. The fruit has broad shoulders tapered to a point, with very thick walls and heavy fruit weight. Excellent shelf life. Vigorous plants and fruit setting ability assure high yield potential in all growing regions. A Gowan exclusive! Matures in 78 days.
-
4 of 18
Cienfuegos Orange (Seeds by Design)
200,000 to 300,000 Scoville unit
An orange habanero hybrid pepper. ‘Cienfuegos Orange F1’ average length is 1.5 inches. It has a fruity hot flavor. A nice fresh market feature. Matures early in 80 to 85 days.
https://www.seedsbydesign.com/seed/Pepper-Hybrid-Cienfuegos-Orange-F1
-
5 of 18
Cienfuegos Red (Seeds by Design)
300,000 to 400,000 Scoville unit
A red habanero hybrid that are 2 inches long. ‘Cienfuegos Red F1’ have bright carmen red fruits. It makes for a dazzler at fresh market. Matures in 80 to 85 days.
https://www.seedsbydesign.com/seed/Pepper-Hybrid-Cienfuegos-Red-F1
-
6 of 18
El Eden (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
‘El Eden’ is a Guajillo-type hybrid hot pepper. Great potential to produce good sized fruit. The average weight is 2 to 2.5 ounces (60 to 70 grams). Plants are vigorous with a semi-upright habit. Fruit is smooth and green, maturing to dark-red color with low pungency. Excellent as a dry pepper. Matures approximately 75 days from transplant.
-
7 of 18
Felicity (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
Hybrid heatless jalapeno peppers are large, and green with fruit maturing to red. They have thick walls and no pungency. ‘Felicity’ produces a continuous fruit set, giving it high yield potential. Medium early maturity.
-
8 of 18
Kacheta (Gowan Seed)
Disease package: HR: Xspp (1-3), IR: TSWV
‘Kacheta’ is an exceptional proven sweet banana pepper. It’s used for processing and fresh markets with great color. Strong plant that is open for easy harvest. This hybrid produces tremendous yields of uniform, straight, and thick-walled fruit. Measures 8 by 1.75 inches, maturing yellow-to-red color. It offers a great disease package. A Gowan Seed Exclusive! Matures in 71 days.
-
9 of 18
Lambo (US Agriseeds, Stokes Seeds)
Disease package: HR: TSWV, Xspp (1-3)
The ‘Lambo’ pepper produces high yields of medium, green-to-red fruit with tapered, traditional shape and thick walls. The medium-to-large plant has large leaves that provide excellent cover. Matures in 75 days.
-
10 of 18
Mammoth (US Agriseeds, Rupp Seeds)
Disease package: PVY, TMV
‘Mammoth’ produces high quality, uniform, dark-green fruit, making it ideal for fresh and processing. Truly "mammoth" in size, this jumbo jalapeno is very adaptable for the most discerning markets. Superior yields complement its excellent fruit quality. Continuous set provides for extended harvest window. Matures in 72 days.
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/peppers/hot-hybrid/mammoth
-
11 of 18
Megatron F1 (Sakata Seed America, Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
Disease package: HR: TM, BLS (0-3,7,8)
‘Megatron’ is a very early, extra-large jalapeno with thick walls and deep-green color. The smooth cylindrical fruit are 4.5 inches long. They ripen from green-to-red and have a good shelf life. The strong compact plants offer high yield potential. Matures in 65 days.
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/pepper-megatron-f1-seed?variant=40030420467784
-
12 of 18
Nitro S10 (SEEDWAY, LLC)
Disease package: HR: TMV (0), IR: Pc, TSWV, Xcv (0-10)
A high quality, mid-maturing hybrid suited for place pack. It is adapted to fall and spring in the southeast and summer production in the northeast. It is suited for production where bacterial leaf spot is a concern. The fruit have good size uniformity and are smooth, firm, glossy, dark-green color and mature to a red color. Matures in 75 days.
https://www.seedway.com/product/nitro-s10-bell-pepper-treated-seed/
-
13 of 18
Pantera (US Agriseeds, Stokes Seeds)
Disease package: Xspp, Xcv
Large hybrid fruits on a strong, vigorous plant. ‘Pantera’ has minimal cracking, and continuously setting fruits with high pungency. Matures in 80 days.
-
14 of 18
PS 11435810 (Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Rupp Seeds)
Disease package: BLS (0, 3, 7, 8)
‘PS 11435810’ is a hot jumbo pepper that has blocky, dark-green fruit for fresh market. This hybrid has continuous setting ability, good yields and high quality. Matures in 60 days.
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/peppers/hot-hybrid/ps-11435810
-
15 of 18
Red Ember (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Bred by Janika Eckert at Johnny’s Selected Seeds
‘Red Ember’ is an organic cayenne that has tremendous flavor on first bite, with warm heat that lingers. Just enough heat to satisfy "pepper heads" (who can eat the peppers whole), but mild enough to slice thinly onto a salad. Makes excellent powder, flakes, and hot sauce. Matures early. High-yielding plants. Fruits average 4 to 4.5 inches long. AAS Winner. USDA Certified Organic. Matures in 75 days, red and ripe.
-
16 of 18
Regulator (Seedway)
Disease package: HR: Xcv (1-10), TM: (0), IR: TSWV (0)
‘Regulator’ is an attractive, widely adaptable pepper. It produces a high percentage of four-lobed fruit, and maintains size throughout the growing season. Features a strong plant with good cover, and great fruit uniformity. Matures in 73 days.
-
17 of 18
Scorpio (Lark Seeds International, Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
Disease package: IR: BLS (1-3)
‘Scorpio F1’ is a hot banana pepper. The vigorous plants set strong yields of 7 to 8 inch straight peppers with bright yellow-green color and low anthocyanins. Matures in 70 days.
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/13131-pepper-scorpio-f1?variant=39988512882760
-
18 of 18
Snowball (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
‘Snowball’ is a bell pepper that matures from ivory-to-yellow and, finally, golden yellow. The fruits are medium size, blocky, and mostly four lobed. Flavor is mild when ivory, and sweet and fruity when golden. Sturdy, medium-size plants provide average leaf cover and have a high yield potential. Good for open field or unheated tunnel crops. Matures in 65 days white, ivory color and 85 days for yellow color.
View all
Caribbean Orange (Terra Organics)
Caribbean Red (Terra Organics)
Catarino (Gowan Seed)
Cienfuegos Orange (Seeds by Design)
Cienfuegos Red (Seeds by Design)
El Eden (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
Felicity (Takii & Company, Ltd.)
Kacheta (Gowan Seed)
Lambo (US Agriseeds, Stokes Seeds)
Mammoth (US Agriseeds, Rupp Seeds)
Megatron F1 (Sakata Seed America, Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
Nitro S10 (SEEDWAY, LLC)
Pantera (US Agriseeds, Stokes Seeds)
PS 11435810 (Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Rupp Seeds)
Red Ember (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Regulator (Seedway)
Scorpio (Lark Seeds International, Harris Seeds / Garden Trends Inc.)
Snowball (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Disease Key
BLS | Bacterial leaf spot Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria |
Bs | Bacterial spot |
CMV | Cucumber mosaic virus |
HR | High resistance |
IR | Intermediate resistance |
Pc | Phytophthora root rot, water mold, Phytophthora capsici |
PepMoV | Pepper mild mottle virus, caused by Tobamovirus pathotype |
PMMoV | Pepper mild mottle virus, caused by Tobamovirus pathotype |
PVY | Potato virus Y |
TEV/TM/Tm | Mosaic caused by Tobamovirus pathotype |
TMV | Tobacco mosaic virus |
ToMV | Tomato mosaic virus |
TSWV | Tomato spotted wilt virus |
Xcv | Bacterial leaf spot, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria |
Subscribe Today For
Carol Miller is Editor of American Vegetable Grower. See all author stories here.