Pepper growing issues...

[Rhody]

There are a couple of things I wanted to mention, thus the vague topic title.

I have been told that using a black light (before transplantation) increases oil (capsaicin) content in peppers.

Is there any truth to this ? If so, for how long and how much extra scoville units does that equate to ?

Second, I have been told by growers in tropical climates that a complete grow cycle to fruit only takes 90 versus

180 days for superhot varieties. Do others who grow in the tropics agree ? I for one would love to grow them

at that rate in the northeast US if possible.

Third, after multiple generations of seeds all cycled through the same climate, say the northeastern US, do the pepper

characteristics, hardiness, resistance to cold, etc... increase or is there no difference ?

Fourth, if I run into any reputable sources that agree or contradict with the questions I just asked I will post the results

here with links for discussion.

Ghosty...

 

[Prehensile]

Peppers are a tropic/subtropical plant , if you get frost your plants will die no matter how many years you grow em. My superhots take forever to produce from seed but, after they start makin babies they never stop. I still don't know how anyone could tell the difference between 1mil scovi or 1.3mil its like oh 200 degrees or 240 it still burns the hell outah you one temp just cooks you a little faster.

 

[PaulG]

Just look for varieties that like a cooler climate. I think some rocotos and habaneros
can do well in cooler climes. That is one of the things I'm looking for for our Pacific NW
climate, so trying lots of varieties to see of any seem to do better here. Once I know a few,
then I can concentrate on those. I won't try to get them to grow outdoors all year, but am
definitely looking for a few to overwinter successfully.

 

[Rhody]

Does anyone want to tackle the grow light issue ? Does it in fact increase the oil production in the pepper pods ? Anyone ?

Ghosty...

 

[LGHT]

Does anyone want to tackle the grow light issue ? Does it in fact increase the oil production in the pepper pods ? Anyone ?
Ghosty...

It's actually a rather simply question to answer, but the first thing you need to understand is what exactly produces the "oil" or Capsaicin in peppers plants causing them to become hot. Once you learned that you will have a rather quick answer to your question.

 

[Rhody]

It's actually a rather simply question to answer, but the first thing you need to understand is what exactly produces the "oil" or Capsaicin in peppers plants causing them to become hot. Once you learned that you will have a rather quick answer to your question.

LGHT,

I know that heat stressing them will produce hotter low hanging fruit. The wiki describes the UVA range that is not blocked by the ozone layer:

The sun emits ultraviolet radiation in the UVA, UVB, and UVC bands. The Earth's ozone layer blocks 97-99% of this UV radiation from penetrating through the atmosphere.[sup][6][/sup] Of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches the Earth's surface, 98.7% is UVA.

I had not heard this before, I believe I have my answer.

What about the 90 day grow cycle in tropical environments ?

Ghosty...

 

[DelawareDave]

Someone corect me if I'm wrong, but isn't it stress to the plant that causes it to produce more capsasum..... Like cutting back on water and environmental stress.

 

[indoChilli]

Someone corect me if I'm wrong, but isn't it stress to the plant that causes it to produce more capsasum..... Like cutting back on water and environmental stress.

Yup, make em dry and wilted, only giving as little as possible foliage or root watering, or else i say torture treatment.