Stacked for Success: Multi-trait chilies spice up breeding
Derek Barchenger, senior scientist in the organization’s pepper breeding program, checks chili demonstration plots at WorldVeg in Tainan, Taiwan. Pic by Neil Palmer/WorldVeg
Each June marks the culmination of the “plum rains” in Taiwan, when the summer heat and humidity intensify while fruits on the plum trees ripen. It also marks the end of WorldVeg-improved chili pepper trials.
Walking along the rows of plants with Derek Barchenger, senior scientist in the organization’s pepper breeding program, a range of chilis are on display: long thick ones, thin curly ones, small squat ones, and colors ranging from crimson to green, orange and yellow. All the plants are laden with fruit.
These are the latest stars in the WorldVeg breeding program, which distributed more that 900 chili pepper lines to 45 countries last year.
Our first stop is line AVPP25001, a row of around 140 plants bursting with bloodred fruits 12-15cm long. Derek explains these are bred for the dry red chili industry in South Asia, where color is key.
Like all the chilies on display here, this line combines multiple characteristics like heat stress tolerance and disease resistance, via a process known as trait stacking. In particular, it offers resistance to anthracnose – a soil-borne fungus that attacks at harvest. It’s particularly devastating because by the time the signature brown, circular spots appear on the fruits it’s already too late to save them. Anthracnose loves hot and humid conditions like those of the plum rains, but the chilis at WorldVeg are unaffected.
Derek considers the main customers of the breeding program other chili breeders – typically from seed companies – with their preferences driving WorldVeg activities. This explains the parrot green AVPP25004, a short and slender chili with a pungent, fruity aroma. Also hot and high yielding, it’s bred to meet the demands of fresh markets -particularly those in northern and western India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Further along are six new CMS chili lines – those with cytoplasmic male sterility. These plants have no functional pollen, meaning it’s easier to cross them with other chili types to combine traits of interest, something important to private seed companies. Here, one particular CMS line has curly fruits, curliness being one of the most important market segments in Indonesia where these chilies are known as cabai keriting.
Improved chili peppers growing at a demonstration plot at WorldVeg in Tainan, Taiwan. Pic by Neil Palmer/WorldVeg
Innovation powered by partnership
Most of the chilies in this demonstration field were developed for the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium, a public-private partnership that brings crop breeders at WorldVeg together with the seed industry to develop climate-resilient, market-preferred varieties of chilis, tomatoes, sweet peppers, pumpkins, and more. By pooling resources, data, and capacity, Consortium members can quickly test different WorldVeg lines in multiple environments. The Consortium is on course to reach 1 million farmers in Asia with improved seed by 2030.
Derek and his 22 colleagues in the pepper breeding program are obliged to develop eight new chili lines for the Consortium each year, meaning there’s always an element of pressure. As with all Consortium crops, members then enjoy two-year exclusive access to test and commercialize them via their own breeding programs. After that the WorldVeg lines become international public goods, with seed freely available upon request.
For chili, around one-third of those requests come from South Asia, with more than 300,000 farmers in India now growing chilies that contain WorldVeg germplasm. This number is likely to be a significant underestimate, says Derek, because it reflects only what the seed companies disclose. Another third of requests come from Southeast Asia.
Improved chili peppers growing at a demonstration plot at WorldVeg in Tainan, Taiwan. Pic by Neil Palmer/WorldVeg
Habanero hotspots
Currently, around 15% of seed requests come from West Africa. There, chili is a vital cash crop, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, enabling producers to earn income from very small plots. All the demonstration lines in Taiwan are being tested in Benin, where WorldVeg has released 11 new chili varieties in 2025.
Derek points out the typical Beninois habanero and warns of its extreme spiciness. Particularly close to his heart, the WorldVeg habanero breeding program was established in 2018, focusing on West Africa, with interest soon coming from the Caribbean – another habanero hotspot.
One of the highest-performing habaneros is AVPP1922, its lantern shape characteristic of the species. Nigeria’s National Agricultural Research Institute (Nihort) is currently registering and releasing this line after trials showed it was more productive and disease resistant than locally available hybrids. The immature fruits are light green – favored in Benin and Togo – while the more mature fruits are dark red or dark green – preferred in Nigeria and Ghana. In Belize, where WorldVeg started working in 2021, red is the color of choice for the sauce industry.
Last but not least, we arrive at AVPP1245 – a bird’s eye type. This is the organization’s top performing hybrid, with both parents originating from the WorldVeg breeding program. Its dark green fruits are fiery and its trait stack impressive: very high yielding, heat tolerant, very early maturing, resistant to anthracnose and cucumber mosiac virus, and its fruits set well. “It really is the total package,” says Derek proudly. He emphasizes that its early maturity offers farmers an escape from environmental stresses that emerge later in the season, helping safeguard harvests and incomes. Hugely popular in Taiwan, it’s now being piloted in southern Vietnam and Bangladesh.
All said, this season’s harvest represents another successful year for Derek and the WorldVeg chili breeders. But by the time the plum rains return, they will need to have developed another eight new lines to meet the APSA target. It means that even after the summer passes, he and his team will continue to feel the heat.
Improved chili peppers growing at a demonstration plot at WorldVeg in Tainan, Taiwan. Pic by Neil Palmer/WorldVeg
WorldVeg will convene the 27th International Pepper Conference in Bangkok, Thailand from 19-22 January 2026. Speakers will mainly target biotic stresses to peppers – from viruses and arthropods, to host resistance to fungal and bacterial diseases. Registration is now open.
