b'A mature Carolina Reaper developing on the plant, showing the distinctive shape and surface texture that emerged through years of selective breeding.Designed to BurnThe inventor of the Carolina Reaper builta legacy by breeding superhot peppers.By Melissa Shipman,Seed World ContributorHE STARTEDwith five-gallonof books about breeding, because I buckets in the backyard. But nowwanted to breed marijuana and be Ed Currie has stepped into his self-pro- the marijuana king of the world. A claimed role as the mad scientist of thecouple of arrests got me off that path pepper industry with record-breaking,and I eventually went into the banking painfully hot chili peppers.industry.As the founder and president ofAt the same time, after years of Pucker Butt Pepper Company, Currieputting his body through the stresses of acknowledges his love of plant breed- addiction, Curries health was a concern. ing developed in childhood, but it was aHe ended up in the library researching winding road to get there. cultures around the world with low My mother was a master gardenerrates of heart disease and cancer, and we had all kinds of colorful things inwhich eventually led him to peppers the yard. I learned about cross-pollinationso he started learning about breeding from her, Currie says. nightshades in 1981 in his backyard. Pucker Butt Pepper Company founder and But, he didnt go straight to peppersOver the years, Currie has beenpresident Ed Currie sees superhot peppers as his passion.involved in several different medicalas a long-term breeding project rooted in By junior high, I was a drug addictstudies, and he is still a believer in theirgenetics and selection.PHOTO: PUCKER BUTT PEPPER COMAPNYand alcoholic, Currie says. I read a lothealing potential.16/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2026'