Salty Soil Hurts New Mexico’s Beloved Chile Pepper
*This can’t be good news. According to the Hatch Chili Store website, the chili season runs from August to early September, but that may vary depending on the weather. Looks like it might be a short chili season this year. VL
By Mónica Ortiz Uribe, Fronteras
We know that too much salt is bad for your diet. It’s also bad for growing crops.
Salty soil is a common problem for farmers in the arid West — and it only gets worse during a drought when there’s not enough water to flush the salts out. In New Mexico one crop that’s suffering is the state’s beloved chile pepper.
[tweet_dis]Chile is not just a crop in New Mexico, it’s seared into the state’s identity. [/tweet_dis]The official state question, “Red or green?” refers to the sauce you prefer on enchiladas.Chile peppers first migrated north with Mexican settlers. Later they were introduced to Anglo farmers.
But today, chile is facing hard times in New Mexico. [pullquote][tweet_dis]chile is facing hard times in New Mexico. Production is down 40 percent from record highs a decade ago. [/tweet_dis][/pullquote]Production is down 40 percent from record highs a decade ago. That’s despite better farming techniques that allow farmers to grow seven times more chile per acre than they did back in 1990.
Still, the number of acres they harvest is at a 40-year low. Disease and competition from Mexico are major factors. But so is drought.
Click HERE to read the full sotry.
[Photo by Paul Gibson/Flickr]
