The Citrus Research Center and Agricultural Experiment Station (CRC-AES) records collection contains administrative records, correspondence, faculty papers, publications, scrapbooks, clippings, photographs, reports, project files, and other material relating to CRC-AES. Formerly known as the Citrus Experiment Station (CES), the bulk of materials precede the establishment of UC Riverside's College of Letters and Sciences in 1954. The majority of topics document the history, events, faculty, staff, facilities, research, and experiments of CES. Materials related to CES research and experiments pertain to the physiology and morphology of citrus, fig, date palm, avocado, and other subtropical crops, soil management, smog studies, pest control, and diseases. A majority of citrus related publications and faculty papers were originally part of the former University of California Graduate School of Tropical Agriculture and Citrus Experiment Station Library. Project files pertain to research and experiments conducted by CES staff, faculty, and associated members. In addition, other subjects include the history of the citrus and avocado industry in Southern California, the introduction of the first Washington navel orange tree, and global production and marketing of citrus and subtropical agriculture.

The Citrus Research Center and Agricultural Experiment Station (CRC-AES) was established by the Regents of the University of California on February 14, 1907. In the late 1800s, the citrus industry was quickly expanding in Southern California causing the need for a research facility closer than the State Agricultural Experiment Station located in Berkeley. In 1899, John Henry Reed, a citrus grower and member of the Riverside Horticultural Club, developed a proposal for the construction of an experiment station in Riverside for the purpose of improving the growth and production of citrus crops. Over the next five years, Reed and his fellow club members created petitions, acquired endorsements, and lobbied the California legislature to have a station developed. In May 1906, a group of commissioners created to represent the UC Regents approved a plan that would allow for the establishment of an organization with two separate branches: a laboratory in Whittier and an experiment station in Riverside.

63.0 linear feet (54 document boxes, 3 flat storage boxes, 8 glass plate negative boxes, 3 index card boxes, 1 lantern slide box, 2 map-case folders, unboxed material)

Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.