The Innovation Acre is a project at Tyler Farms that focuses on developing unique crosses of peppers. The project is led by head horticulturist Steve Bender, who is credited with creating the California Reaper.
Bender’s focus is on developing peppers with different flavors and heat levels. He crossbreeds varieties based on a number of factors and during the process records notes about flavors, aromas, and appearance, then focuses on growing several generations of the peppers until they are deemed stable.