`NuMex Suave Red' and `NuMex Suave Orange' Mild Capsicum chinense Cultivars

The New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of ‘NuMex Suave Red’ and ‘NuMex Suave Orange’ open-pollinated Capsicum chinense Jacq. cultivars. The species C. chinense contains some of the most pungent pod types within chiles (Capsicum spp.) (Bosland and Votava, 2000). Pungent cultivars within C. chinense typically register 250,000 to 300,000 Scoville heat units (SHU) (Zewdie and Bosland, 2001). No mild C. chinense cultivars are commercially available at this time. ‘NuMex Suave Red’ and ‘NuMex Suave Orange’ exhibit very low pungency levels and fill a unique niche in C. chinense cultivars.