Project Grant 20266701446812

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded West Virginia State University Research and Development Corporation $299,240 on September 1, 2026, under the Resident Instruction, Agriculture, and Food Science Facilities and Equipment Grants program (CFDA 10.308) to improve pepper breeding through flavor and aroma selection.

The project will study 244 Capsicum chinense accessions—including habanero and Scotch bonnet varieties—to understand how genetic and chemical differences influence flavor, aroma, and consumer preference. The work combines genomic analysis with measurements of volatile and nonvolatile compounds that contribute to taste and smell. Consumer panels will evaluate representative peppers for aroma, flavor, heat, and overall acceptability, describing perceived sensory characteristics. Machine learning models will then predict consumer preference from genomic and metabolomic data, enabling breeders to identify promising pepper lines without relying solely on repeated sensory evaluations. The project will deliver a user-friendly prediction tool providing expected flavor and aroma characteristics from genetic and metabolite data, and will evaluate useful markers and flavor-related traits identified in C. chinense across other cultivated pepper species including C. annuum, C. frutescens, and C. baccatum to identify germplasm for future breeding.

Period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. Work is performed in Dunbar, West Virginia. West Virginia State University Research and Development Corporation is a technology transfer and research arm of West Virginia State University, a 1890 Land Grant College and Historically Black College or University.