**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP COMPETITIVE GREEN CHILE PEPPER VARIETIES AMENABLE TO MECHANICAL HARVESTING. THE CRITICAL NEED IS TO REDUCE LABOR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH HARVESTING OF PROCESSED PEPPERS, ESSENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF THE US INDUSTRY AND A GROWING MARKET WORLDWIDE. OUR OBJECTIVES FORMULATE A SYSTEMS APPROACH COMBINING GENOMICS, PHYSIOLOGY, PLANT BREEDING, HORTICULTURE, AND MECHANIZATION. THEY INCLUDE: 1) DEVELOP BREEDING LINES OF GREEN JALAPENO AND NEW MEXICO CHILE PEPPER THAT COMBINE DESTEMMING, PLANT ARCHITECTURE AND UNIFORMITY 2) CHARACTERIZE GENOTYPE X ENVIRONMENT X MANAGEMENT INTERACTIONS ON PLANT ARCHITECTURE AND YIELD 3) DETERMINE THE INHERITANCE OF PLANT ARCHITECTURE AND DETERMINACY IN PEPPER 4) FINE-MAP KEY LOCI FOR DESTEMMING IN PEPPER. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES PLANT BREEDING FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, PRIORITY CODE A1141. IT ADDRESSES PRE-BREEDING, GERMPLASM ENHANCEMENT, APPLIED QUANTITATIVE GENETICS AND CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT BY BREEDING AND EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF IMPROVED GREEN CHILE AND JALAPEÑO LINES FOR THEIR EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY IN MECHANICAL HARVESTING. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS WORK INCLUDE IMPROVED GERMPLASM, GENOMIC TOOLS, UNDERSTANDING OF GXEXM EFFECTS ON PLANT ARCHITECTURE, YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF INHERITANCE OF TRAITS FOR MECHANICALLY HARVESTED GREEN CHILES. THE RESULTS MAY EXTEND TO OTHER PEPPER GERMPLASM AND VEGETABLES. WE HAVE STRONG K-12 AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT OUTREACH INCLUDING ADDRESSING MINORITIES AND SMALL TO MEDIUM FARMS. RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL BE TRAINED THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN THIS PROJECT. WE ARE WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS, STATE COMMODITY BOARDS, GROWERS, PROCESSORS AND SEED COMPANIES THAT IDENTIFIED THIS PROJECT AS A CRITICAL NEED.

University Of California, Davis

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