In situ RECOVERY OF ‘POBLANO’ PEPPER IN PUEBLA, MÉXICO

Abstract

The ‘Poblano’ pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important plant genetic resource for the State of Puebla, in México; which might disappear because of the lack of actions directed toward its recovery and in situ conservation. Considering that its preservation also depends on the farmers who cultivate it, a research supported on participatory action techniques was designed. Goals were: to rescue the local knowledge on selection criteria, to identify landraces with
characteristics desirable to the peasants, and to improve the seed selection process. The study was conducted with two peasant groups from San Matías Tlalancaleca and Juárez Coronaco, Puebla, and with 10 and 11 landraces, respectively, from the same communities. The varieties were sown during the 2002-2003 cycle, at 0.80 m between rows, 0.40 m between plants, and two plants per hill. During the nursery and field stages, the peasants conducted an open and an absolute evaluation and a preference ranking of the sown landrace. The peasants claimed as their main problem the plant losses suffered during the nursery, field and harvest stages, caused by a disease locally known as “secadera”, produced by a complex of fungi and nematodes. When judging the quality of a variety, the peasants considered the health and uniformity of seedlings and plants, yield and fruit attributes (size, shape, color, smoothness, and peduncle insertion). For seed selection, farmers highlighted plant and fruit health as well as rials were identified.