In 2006, the Guinness Book of World Records, confirmed it to be the hottest chilli in the world, replacing the Red Savina Habanero.

There has been some heated discussion as to whether it is a Capsicum frutescens or a Capsicum chinense. Recent DNA tests have found that it is an interspecies hybrid, mostly chinense but with some frutescens genes.

The Bhut Jolokia (meaning Ghostly or Poison) has alot of other names – such as:

Ghost Chilli or Ghost Pepper

Naga Jolokia or Naga Morich or Naga Moresh (in Bangladesh) (Naga meaning cobra snake in Sanskrit – which originates from Nagaland and the Naga Community)

Nai Miris(in Sri Lanka)

Bih Jolokia(in the Indian state of Assam)

Oo-Morok (in Manipur) (Oo meaning Tree, Morok meaning Chilli)

Borbih Jolokia

Nagahari

Raja Mirchi (King of Chillies)

Regardless of the name they all refer to the same plant.

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Instructions:

- Sow your Bhut seeds for 8-10 weeks indoors before it is safe to plant in the garden. Avoid starting too early as plants may become root-bound or leggy

- Use a shallow flat or a recycled egg tray and a sterilized organic soil mix without fertilizer

- Bhut Jolokia seeds require the soil temperature to be between 75°F and 90°F -- a propagation matt will help keep the temperature consistent

- Sew seeds 1/4 of an inch into soil

- Soil must be kept reasonably moist, keep the right balance between being completely dried out and never allowed to become soggy

- They can take up to 35 days just to germinate. They also have an extremely long growing period, up to 160 days before harvest

If you follow these simple steps then you should have alot of success with your Bhut Jolokia Seeds

Here is a really helpful Bhut Jolokia Youtube video:

When Paul Bosland exhaled after taking a bite of the world’s hottest chilli, it felt like he was breathing fire.

“Got milk?” he thought.

Bhut Jolokia, now the World’s Hottest Chilli Pepper.

The next thing Bosland thought, after gulping down some soda, was, “That chilli has got to be some kind of record holder.”

He was right!

In the fall of 2006, the Guinness Book of Records confirmed that New Mexico State University Regent’s Professor Paul Bosland had indeed discovered the world’s hottest chilli pepper, Bhut Jolokia.

Bhut Jolokia, at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), is nearly twice as hot as Red Savina Habanero, the chilli pepper variety it replaced as the world’s hottest.

A standard New Mexico green chilli contains about 1,500 SHUs and an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000 SHUs.

“The name Bhut Jolokia translates as ‘ghost chile,’” Bosland said, “we’re not sure why they call it that, but I think it’s because the chilli is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it!”

Paul Bosland, NMSU professor, shows off his Guinness World Records certificate for the world’s hottest chilli pepper According to Bosland, Bhut Jolokia is a naturally occurring inter-specific hybrid indigenous to the Assam region of North-Eastern India. A member of NMSU’s Chile Pepper Institute visiting India sent Bhut Jolokia seeds back to NMSU for testing in 2001.

“The plant doesn’t set fruit very well, so it took a couple of years to get enough for field testing,” Bosland said.

Bosland then grew Bhut Jolokia, Red Savina, and habanero peppers under controlled settings. Bhut Jolokia exhibited significantly higher SHUs, as much as triple the amount, and these findings were confirmed by two independent laboratories.

Bosland reported that the variety has compelling potential in the packaged food industry as a food additive. The pepper could be pickled while still green, dehydrated and used as a seasoning. Because the heat is so concentrated, less would be needed and food manufacturers would save money.

“This isn’t something you’d pickle whole and eat,” Bosland said, “but it could replace dehydrated jalapeno as an additive.”

Bhut Jolokia is not NMSU’s first brush with chile greatness; the record-holder for world’s largest chile pepper is a specimen of the ‘NuMex Big Jim’ variety. The record-holder was grown near Hatch, but the variety was developed at NMSU.

This set of instructions are based on our experience of growing Bhut Jolokia chillies in England. For those of you not from England, we have a lot of rain, not much sunlight during the summer which generally makes growing chillies, especially the Bhut Jolokia very tricky indeed.

That said, it can be done and we have outlined our experience below.

If you are fortunate to come from a country with a hotter, sunnier climate then you should be able to grow some Bhuts, with relative ease.

When you begin to sow your seeds we would suggest a soil temperature between 80 to 90 degrees. You may need to use a propagation mat or electric propogator to supply enough heat, we find using airing cupboards very useful.

You can start your seeds in soil cups and use a rich potting soil mixture. Ensure they are kept in sunlight during the day and move to warmest place in your home during cool nights. Remember light plays no part in the germination process. It is the warmth rather than sunlight that causes seed to germinate.

You should keep soil moist and never allow it to dry out and never allow it to become soggy. The seeds can take up to 36 days just to germinate and 160 days before harvesting. Don’t loose heart and keep the faith – the little blighter’s will germinate soon enough! The Bhut Jolokia’s need warmth to germinate and you can buy special chilli germinating solution, so that your seeds can have a pre soak which will hopefully ensure a successful result.

We grow all out chilli plants in doors – they can be grown outside, but for us, this is a more difficult route. You can always consider growing them in containers, this way you can move them inside if it becomes to cool.

This type chilli does not seem to set fruit well, plants can flower, but then they drop off. Some causes of flower drop are the air temperature being over 95 degrees. Sometimes it can be too much nitrogen in the food, so be careful which fertilizer you use, we find it best to use manure or organic.

We had some plants a year ago, which grew well over year one but never flowered at all. We made sure that they wintered well and then we started year 2 with a fully grown plant, which could then focus on producing chillies. The second year was awesome, in terms of the amount of Bhut Jolokia chillies that grew.

As with all chilli plants, they are susceptible to attack and a light dusting with powdered lime with prevent most insects attacks.

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