Where Does the Yellow Jalapeno Come From?

Jalapenos come in colors other than green.

Jalapenos come in colors other than green.

Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

The color green comes to mind when considering jalapenos (Capsicum annuum var. jalapeno), but several colors of this popular pepper exist. Yellow jalapenos, like those of other colors, originally resulted when pepper crosses yielded fruits in unexpected hues. Sometimes, nature gets full credit for the color. Other times, highly specialized breeding programs are behind the work. Peppers with unusual color or other qualities are selected and bred further to enhance and stabilize these desirable features.

Fruitful Beginnings

The Texas AgriLife Research pepper-breeding program leads the way in new pepper development. Started in 1970, the program began in response to pepper virus outbreaks that threatened this important agricultural crop. In 1992, the program released its first yellow jalapeno, known as "Jaloro" (Capsicum annuum "Jaloro"). Meaty "Jaloro" fruits begin golden yellow and then gradually turn orange and finally red. With fruit similar in size and flavor to common jalapenos, "Jaloro" plants display high resistance to pepper viruses. The yellow color was a pleasant byproduct of breeding against disease. Additional yellow varieties have been introduced in subsequent years.

Flavorful Developments

Controlled pepper breeding requires patience and detail. Breeding begins by selecting peppers with desirable features and then cross-pollinating those plants and growing the seeds that result. When the next generation matures, further tests determine how it stands up to disease or whether traits such as color stay true. Throughout the process, breeders select varieties that develop desired characteristics they pass on to the next generation of seed. Genes for certain features, such as heat in jalapenos, remain dominant in pepper crosses. For more heat, breeders cross new plants back with hot peppers. For milder jalapenos, crosses back to sweet varieties create offspring with more sweetness in lieu of heat.

Breeding Byproducts

For home gardeners, crossing peppers -- or letting your peppers cross themselves -- can be interesting. The next generation grown from seed can be full of surprises. When disease threatens major agricultural crops such as jalapenos, pepper breeding takes on added importance. Even so, surprise byproducts still arise. Yellow "Jaloro" jalapenos enjoy popularity for their disease resistance, but their beautiful color adds significantly to salsas and other products traditionally limited to green and red. A mild jalapeno developed by Texas AgriLife Research helped expand the salsa market to reach tender palates across the United States.

Nature's Hand

In addition to programs like Texas AgriLife Research, yellow jalapenos have resulted from random crosses and natural pollination between parents that will never be known. In 1978, a vigilant eye noted a jalapeno plant bearing yellow fruit. It was the only yellow-fruited plant in a field measuring 3,000 square feet. Known simply as "Yellow Jalapeno" (Capsicum annuum "Yellow Jalapeno"), the plant was isolated from other peppers and then developed from that seed. Fruits remain true to the yellow color. In subsequent years, one "Yellow Jalapeno" offspring developed larger yellow fruits. This new variety, known as "Yellow Jalapenona" (Capsicum annuum "Yellow Jalapenona") also grows consistently yellow from seed.

About the Author

Jolene Hansen


Photo Credits

  • Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
bibliography-icon icon for annotation tool Cite this Article