1892 - Laboratory established in Florida by the USDA to support the growing citrus industry. Source: The United States Horticultural Research Laboratory: A Century of USDA Subtropical-Horticultural Research.

1904 - USDA introduces the date palm to the U.S. and establishes the date industry in California. Source: Citrus Industry, Vol. 1. Or The United States Horticultural Research Laboratory: A Century of USDA Subtropical-Horticultural Research, chapter 5.

1931 - USDA develops the tangelos (grapefruit + tangerine hybrid) 'Minneola" and 'Orlando', a new citrus fruit type. Source: USDA Cir. 181, pp. 20.

1932 - Dr. H.E. Denny of the U.S. Fruit Utilization Laboratory in Los Angeles, CA discovered that ethylene was the agent responsible for initiating fruit coloring in oranges in 1925. This discovery was put into immediate practical application in the treatment of citrus fruit by ethylene for color development. U.S. Dept. Agr. PBI. Div. of Hort. Crops and Dis. Mimeographed circular (Winston et. al., 1932).

1934 - USDA releases the citrus rootstock 'Carrizo' - over 60% of all citrus trees in the U.S. are grafted onto Carrizo (known as 'Troyer' in California).

1940 - USDA establishes the seasonal changes in fruit quality of Florida oranges that led to Florida's legal standards for maturity of Florida oranges. U.S. Dept. of Agr. Bull. 753, 1940.

1948 - USDA scientists in collaboration with Florida Citrus Commission scientists developed the process of frozen concentrated orange juice, thereby placing orange juice into every home in America. Source: Citrus Science and Technology, Vol. 2, Eds. S. Nagy, P.E. Shaw, M. K. Veldhuis, pg. 211-213, 1977.

1959 - USDA releases 'Robinson', 'Osceola', and 'Lee' tangerine hybrids.

1964 - USDA releases 'Nova' tangelo.

1974 - USDA releases the citrus rootstock 'Swingle' - over 25% of all citrus trees in the U.S. are grafted onto 'Swingle'. Over 80% of all the citrus trees in the U.S. are grafted onto Carrizo or Swingle.

1976 - Citrus black fly eradicated using USHRL-reared parasites as biocontrol agents. Source: Entomophaga 23:361-366, 1978.

1977 to 1979 - Demonstrated first mechanical transmission of, first purification methods for, and first serological detection methods for CTV (citrus tristeza virus). Source: Phytopathology 67:965-968, 1977; 68: 88-95, 1978; and 69:190-194, 1979.

1979 - USDA releases the 'Sunburst' tangerine.

1982 - A team of USDA scientists develop method to export leatherleaf fern in van containers.

1987 - Developed use of entomogenous nematodes for biological control of larvae of Diaprepes abbreviatus. This method was developed into a commercial product that is now one of the few methods available for control of the Diaprepes citrus root weevil. Source: Environmental Entomology 16:987-989, 1987.

1987- A team of USDA scientists discovers that gibberellic acid reduces the susceptibility of grapefruit to attacks by the Caribbean fruit fly. This discovery was developed further by the Florida Division of Plant Industry and now is the basis for Caribbean fruit fly free zones that meets quarantine regulations for fresh fruit shipments of grapefruit to foreign countries. Source: Tropical Science 27: 261-270, 1987.

1987 - USDA releases the 'Fallglo' tangerine, 'Midsweet' orange, and 'Flame' grapefruit. 'Sunburst' and 'Fallglo' comprise most of the early season tangerine market in Florida today.

1989 - USDA releases 'Ambersweet,' the first orange created by hybridization and selection. All other orange varieties originated as bud sports in the field.

1990 - Development of universal monoclonal antibody for detection of severe Florida isolates of CTV which is used worldwide. Source: Phytopathology 80:224-228, 1990.

1994 - Discovered and released a burrowing nematode-resistant citrange selection (Kuharski citrange) which is used by growers with burrowing-nematode-infested groves. Source: Proc. Florida State Hortic. Soc. 107:84-89, 1994.

1994 - Determined that the epidemiological factors of inoculum production spread, survival and pathogenesis of citrus bacterial spot differed significantly from those of citrus canker which, when combined with genomic and serological information, led to the deregulation of the disease in Florida and halt of eradication efforts.