AUSTRALIAN   CHILLI HEAD
 
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Australia Chillies
 
 
               
 
Red Trindad Scorpion ChilliChile/Chili/Chilli peppers (Capsicum L. spp.) are known for causing the sensation of heat or burning when consumed. The heat sensation is incited by the type and the amount of a group of capsaicinoids, the alkaloids found only in chile/chilli/chili pepper pods (Zewdie and Bosland, 2001). The amount of capsaicinoids in a chile/chilli/chili pepper pod is dependent on the genetic makeup of the plant and the environment where it is grown (Harvell and Bosland, 1997; Zewdie and Bosland, 2000). The capsaicinoids have evolved in chile peppers as a defense mechanism against mammalian predators (Tewksbury and Nabhan, 2001); nevertheless, this trait is an important fruit quality attribute and one of the most important reasons chile/chilli/chili peppers are consumed.

Chile/chilli/chili peppers were first introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus. Shortly after the voyage of Columbus, Portuguese traders introduced chile/chilli/chili peppers along their trade routes in Africa and Asia, including India (Andrews, 1999). By 1542, three varieties of chile/chilli/chili peppers were recognized to be growing in India (Purseglove, 1968). Today, numerous landraces of chile/chilli/chili pepper differing in shape, size, color, and heat level can be found in India as farmers selected chile/chilli/chili peppers to fit their needs.

The northeastern region of India claims that the chile/chilli/chili peppers grown in this region are the hottest in the world. Genetic resources of chile/chilli/chili pepper landraces in northeastern India have not been well documented, but a few names mentioned include ‘Naga Jolokia’, ‘Bhut Jolokia’, and ‘Bih Jolokia’.
Bhut Jolokia
The Assamese word ‘‘jolokia’’means the Capsicum pepper. Mathur et al. (2000) reported the ‘Naga Jolokia’ to be a variety of C. frutescens L. and to have a very high heat level, i.e., 855,000 Scoville heat units (SHUs). The hottest chile pepper on record is the C.chinense Jacq. cultivar Red Savina with a heat level of 577,000 SHUs (Guinness Book of World Records, 2006).

This study was undertaken to
1) compare the heat levels of ‘Red Savina’, ‘Bhut Jolokia’ and habanero in a replicated field trial;
2) establish whether ‘Bhut Jolokia’ truly has a higher heat level than ‘Red Savina’; and
3) determine the species designation of the ‘Bhut Jolokia.’

 
               
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