Th 2007 Guinness Book of World Records listed Bhut Jolokia (aka Ghost Chili) as the hottest pepper in the world at 1,041,427 Scoville Heat Units (SHU’s).
As of October 16, 2010, the new world’s hottest pepper was Naga Viper at 1,349,000 SHU’s. (Naga Viper, World’s Hottest Pepper). I made several attempts to obtain Naga Viper seeds last Winter but could not find any for sell or trade.
Check out what I planted today:
A few weeks ago I learned that Trinidad Scorpion, “Butch T” strain is the new record holder at 1,463,700 SHU’s. (Please don’t ask what I paid for these seeds…). See the official record at Guinness.
Why start these so early? My experience (going on my 4th year of growing Bhut Jolokia) is that these super hot varieties are difficult and slow to germinate, slow to grow and late to produce. They do NOT like cool weather.
The thermostat is set at 84°F. I expect germination to begin in 6 days. I’ve been working on two variants of Bhut Jolokia –
1. Typical elongate, orange-red, crinkly pod. I’ve been getting poor germination (<50%) with this variant and often very small, slow growing plants with low production. Pods average 0.014 lb. (6 g). Here’s a pic of the pods from which the seeds planted today were taken:
2. Wider, heavier, deeper red, smoother pod with a more acute tapering towards the distal tip. With this variant, I’ve been getting better germination (up to 90%), larger plants, faster growth and much better production. The pod from which these seeds were taken weighed 0.028 lb (13 g):
Next year I hope to be able to share Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” and Naga Viper (at a more reasonable price…) at: DT’s Pepper Seeds
Update from previous post – turning and watering the compost pile reduced the temperate to 110° after one day, but it rose to 122° this morning.
Delectation of Tomatoes, etc. 