NuMex Pumpkin Spice

NuMex Pumpkin Spice is a New Mexico State University jalapeño-type cultivar developed from a 1995 hybridisation between Permagreen bell pepper and Early Jalapeno. It was bred in the NMSU Chile Pepper Breeding Program through pedigree selection and repeated backcrossing to jalapeño pod type, with breeding line 09c401-9 becoming NuMex Pumpkin Spice. In NMSU's cultivar history it is listed as an officially released jalapeño cultivar from 2015, but its breeding origin traces back to 1995.

The plant is compact, usually about 36.0 to 45.0 cm tall, and was selected for concentrated fruit set suited to commercial production and home gardens. The pods are jalapeño-shaped, conical, and about 6.5 cm long, with pod width around 2.5 to 3.0 cm and wall thickness about 2.3 to 2.6 mm. Unlike corked jalapeño lines, NuMex Pumpkin Spice is described as lacking epidermal reticulation, giving it a smoother finish.

Its defining feature is mature fruit colour. The pods start green and ripen to a pumpkin-orange finish rather than the standard red of most jalapeños. Heat is placed in the hot jalapeño range, with NMSU reporting about 22,000 to 25,000 SHU, and the cultivar was specifically developed to give growers and processors an alternative mature fruit colour that was not previously available in commerce.

Culturally and commercially, NuMex Pumpkin Spice belongs to the modern New Mexico breeding tradition of creating distinctive market peppers with strong visual appeal. NMSU describes the coloured Spice jalapeños as high-value produce for growers serving home gardens, farmers’ markets, and retail shelves, while extension material recommends NuMex Pumpkin Spice among jalapeño varieties for New Mexico gardens. In use, it is treated as a fresh and processing jalapeño, fitting salsa, pickling, and general kitchen use while standing out mainly for its pumpkin-orange ripe colour.