Syngenta announces 'Overgreen' green pepper

GREENSBORO, N.C. – According to the press release, Syngenta has released a new green pepper variety called Overgeen they hope children and parents will both like.

“My vision for Overgreen peppers is to change the green pepper market – from what people think green peppers should look like right down to how they eat them,” said Rachel Broadbent per the press release. Broadbent is the product lead for peppers and tomatoes at Syngenta, North America.

Overgreen peppers are the product of a breeding program using traditional techniques. Syngenta's process has involved selecting peppers with desired traits, breeding them, selecting offspring with the desired traits and repeating these steps until a stable plant emerges. Grower cooperators are essential to this process. J&J Family of Farms in Loxahatchee, Fla. has fostered this process alongside Syngenta and is currently expanding the retail market of Overgreen peppers.

Syngenta says growers can expect several advantages with Overgreen peppers. Once established in the field, the plants produce heavy foliage cover, which protects the fruit from sunburn. Per the release, Overgreen peppers also stay greener longer, meaning growers have a longer window for harvesting the crop.

“The reason Overgreen peppers stay greener longer than others is that every cell in them has twice the chlorophyll as a normal pepper, and the chlorophyll molecules are twice as big,” said Kevin Cook, global lead of open-field pepper research and development for Syngenta.

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Photo provided by Syngenta