EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The nation’s top experts on chile peppers are gathering in Las Cruces for a two-conference.
The 2025 New Mexico Chile Conference is being held Monday, Feb. 3 and Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road.
The event is being put on by New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute and Department of Extension Plant Sciences.
“The New Mexico Chile Conference is the premier annual event in the country that focuses solely on chile peppers, providing the latest research findings and production guidance for the state’s signature crop,” said Stephanie Walker, extension vegetable specialist at NMSU and co-chair of the conference.
The Monday evening reception will feature a presentation on the history of NMSU’s Chile Pepper Institute, provided by Danise Coon, a research specialist who’s been a part of the institute almost since its start in 1992.
During the Tuesday morning session, a grower panel will discuss “Envisioning the Future of New Mexico Chile,” followed by a keynote address by Michael Mazourek, a vegetable breeder and associate professor at Cornell University.
In his keynote address, Mazourek will share his vision for chile that leverages his experience modulating pungency, selecting for culinary value and using evolutionary breeding genomics, NMSU said in its news release.
Additional presentations will cover guest labor programs, irrigation outlook, robotics, pest and disease management, and genetics.
The conference will feature vendor booths as well.
All attendees are eligible for four New Mexico Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator continuing education general credits, NMSU said.
For more information, visit https://cpi.nmsu.edu or call 575-646-3028.
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