University of California Citrus Experiment Station
The Southern California "citrus belt" developed rapidly in the 1870s after experimental navel orange plantings were conducted in Riverside, using cuttings introduced from Bahia, Brazil.
On February 14, 1907, the University of California Regents established the UC Citrus Experiment Station (CES) on 23 acres (93,000 m2) of land on the east slope of Mount Rubidoux in Riverside.
In 1913, a record killing freeze caused a panic throughout the $175 million Southern California citrus industry, which demanded more state-funded agricultural research.
Herbert John Webber, professor of plant breeding and the newly appointed CES director from Cornell University, considered various site proposals but ultimately worked with Riverside officials and local growers to assist in drafting and endorsing a proposal for the station to be relocated to its current site on 475 acres (1.92 km2) of land 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from downtown Riverside, adjacent to the Box Springs Mountains.
On December 14, 1914, the UC Regents approved the selection, news of which caused jubilation in downtown Riverside: "The entire city turned into the streets, the steam whistle on the electrical plant blew for 15 minutes, and the Mission Inn bells were rung in celebration."
The original laboratory, farm, and residence buildings on the Box Springs site were designed by Lester H. Hibbard of Los Angeles, a graduate of the University of California School of Architecture, in association with a colleague, H.B.
Under his direction, the land, capital facilities, and operating budget expanded significantly, and the station moved into several new areas of agricultural science, including statistics and experimental plot design, herbicides to reduce weeds, and the first studies of the effects of air pollution on crops.
[5] After Batchelor retired in 1951, Alfred M. Boyce became the new director, and the CES entered another period of growth as agricultural production in Southern California boomed after World War II.
When the Citrus Experiment Station celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, it had grown considerably in size and stature with several new buildings and a wider range of horticultural research conducted with more acres for experimental plantings.
In one case, the importation and establishment of a tiny stingless wasp brought the ash whitefly, which caused millions of dollars in damage to agriculture and also despoiled cars, under control.
Another breeding program has yielded cowpea lines that are early-maturing and heat-tolerant, making them particularly well-suited to the drought conditions of West Africa, helping to reduce hunger and poverty there.
In addition to the original 420-acre (1.7 km2) CES-AES, the department also oversees the 540-acre (2.2 km2) Coachella Valley Agricultural Research Station, located about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of campus, in a desert environment near the Salton Sea.
On the two stations, over 50 crops are grown for research including citrus, avocado, turfgrass, asparagus, date palms, vegetables, small grain, alfalfa, and ornamentals.
A sampling of historical materials and rare books from Special Collections are represented in the online Citrus Experiment Station Centennial Exhibition on the UCR Libraries website.
