90 Years Of CREC Service

As Florida Grower celebrates its centennial of service in communicating about the state’s agriculture, it gives us a chance to reflect on our own past. Florida Grower was 10 years old when the University of Florida established the Citrus Experiment Station at its present site in Lake Alfred. Today, the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) celebrates its 90th birthday.

Station’s Start

The origins of what is now the CREC attest to the strong relationship that UF has enjoyed with the Florida citrus industry throughout its history. It was from the industry that not only the idea of a Central Florida site for citrus research emerged, but through dedication from the industry that the Citrus Experiment Station was born. A committee of Polk County citrus growers — including S.F. Poole, J.H. Ross, H.W. Snell, L.L. Davies, C.H. Thompson,  W.L. Drew, J.A Snively, and A.M. Tilden — sought support in 1917 to initiate the experiment station, and raised more than $10,000 in donations.

The 1917 Florida Legislature authorized the Board of Control to establish the University of Florida experiment station for the investigation of problems facing citrus, stipulating that the facility be funded by growers. Following the enabling legislation, the committee identified a grove site in Lake Alfred owned by the Florida Fruitlands Company. Three parcels comprising 84 acres were selected and purchased by the Board of Control for $5,900, establishing the physical site of the Citrus Experiment Station. This site was characteristic of upper ridge sandy soils and thus was very representative of a significant portion of Florida citrus land at the time.

Decades Of Development

In the ensuing decade, additional steps were taken to establish the Citrus Experiment Station at Lake Alfred. The first superintendent, John Jeffries, was appointed in 1920 to oversee grove care. Scientists associated with the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station in Gainesville traveled to the Lake Alfred site to conduct field research. In 1921, the first building was erected on the site to house the superintendent and provide local support to the scientists traveling from Gainesville. The first faculty members (a plant pathologist and two entomologists) were assigned to the Citrus Experiment Station in 1926–1927. By this time, 63 acres of research groves were planted on the site.

As the 20th century progressed, the Florida legislature recognized the need to support the citrus experiment station, and funding was committed to strengthen programs. By 1935, a director of the Citrus Experiment Station, Dr. Arthur Forrest Camp, was in place, and UF had concentrated all of its citrus work in Lake Alfred. Program areas expanded and more faculty and staff were committed to the Experiment Station.

The Florida Citrus Commission developed a research department that was established at Lake Alfred in the 1940s. Additional land was added to the Citrus Experiment Station, more buildings were erected, and in 1984, the name was changed to the Citrus Research and Education Center to reflect the broader mission.

Moving Forward

Continued interaction between CREC and the Florida citrus industry highlights the 90 years leading to today. Looking forward, citrus will remain a dominant theme of our mission. Today’s challenges citrus growers, harvesters, packers, and processors face are complex and dynamic. In response, our research and education programs will need to be responsive, aggressive, and flexible.

Relying on emergence of new scientific information and methodologies from within UF/IFAS as well as from colleagues worldwide, and utilizing rapidly evolving technologies, CREC faculty and staff will continue to develop, test, and deliver solutions leading to continued success of the citrus industry. We look forward to the exciting new developments that are likely to occur as we approach our own centennial. For more information, please visit our Web site: www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu.