26 / SEEDWORLD.COM FEBRUARY 2018 open field dry, open field humid) and vari- ous elongated and conical types such as Elongated Bell and Dulce Italiano (plastic house) and Cascadura (open field). Natalia Nagy (NN): Pepper is a crop that is growing in consumption and offering plenty of opportunities and diversity. Being relatively new in peppers we have a strong focus on indoor blocky peppers. This is the biggest market but also very competitive. As a result, our main pres- ence is in Mexico. For the outdoor mar- kets, our focus is on Lamuyo type which is mainly used for processing purposes. Ariadna Monroy (AM): Pepper types usu- ally are bred for different locations where consumers have different requirements such as taste, shape, flavor, uses. Cultural background and history have a lot of influ- ence in what people eat and how they eat it. There a focus toward certain types depending on the size of the market and the location, e.g., Mexico, United States, Europe, open field, greenhouse, etc. In most crops, yield and resistance are paramount breeding targets. How is this in sweet pepper? BM: In all of the different markets I’ve worked on, disease resistance has been used effectively to either increase yield, or to stabilize it. Many markets rely on spe- cific types of resistance to compete and survive. The use of markers are allowing us to introduce new resistance faster than ever before and allowing us to combine multiple disease resistances.  NN: Many of the breeding efforts are the same for the different types of sweet peppers like yield and certain diseases. The difference is how yield manifests itself. In some market yield is represented by the amount of peppers and in others, it is measured by kg per m2, or by fruit weight and fruit dimensions. These parameters need to be kept in mind when improving yield. In general breeding increases yield about 1 percent per year. AM: Yield is a compounded trait, many factors such as number of fruits, size of the fruit, earliness, number of harvest, density etc. are involved into yield calculation (for what diseases and what factors play into yield)? Quality has to be hand in hand with yield. Uniform size, color, shape, and tex- ture facilitate the manipulation of the prod- uct. Homogeneous products are easier to manipulate, pack, transport, display in shelves or use in equipment for industry. Which diseases are most important in your breeding work? Have there been any new diseases in sweet pepper in the past few years? BM: In the humid areas, bacterial leaf spot has been a major issue for many years. Phytophthora capsici has been a major issue in Midwest/Eastern U.S. and is starting to appear more frequently in Southeastern U.S. areas as well. Tomato spotted wilt virus continues to be an issue is certain areas.  MN: Our breeding projects for resistance against many diseases and pests are very long term, sometimes taking more than 15 years, between the initial cross with the exotic resistant material and the released commercial variety. This is why we are very proud that most of our future varieties will be resistant to pests such as Nematodes (Meloidogyne sp.) and Powdery mildew (Leveilulla taurica), with native resistance traits coming from wild peppers. The list of resistances we are addressing is long: Phytophtora, Tospoviruses, Tobamoviruses, Xanthomonas and many more. In addition, we are just launching a white fly resistant variety. Breeding for insect resistance is a battle fought on two fronts: providing resistance against the pest itself (white flies, thrips, caterpillars) to reduce virus pressure as the pest act as vectors for the virus, and creating resistance to the virus itself as well. Red peppers on the vine. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY MONSANTO