USDA Bureau of Plant Industry Horticultural and Pomological Investigations Records

Collection

Identifier: MS0065

Staff Only

Content Description

The USDA Bureau of Plant Industry Horticultural and Pomological Investigations Records contain black and white photographs, acetate and glass negatives, glass slides, drawings, note cards, project reports, research records, and correspondence related to research on small fruits and nuts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fruit Laboratory. Examples of topics include experimental fruits, fruit varieties, plant anatomy, breeding, crossing, diseases, insects, irrigation, handling, pruning, harvesting, and marketing. Many photographs were taken in Beltsville and Glenn Dale, Maryland.

A subset of this collection consists of 350 images depicting grapevines and grounds of the USDA's Oakville (California) Experimental Winery (now the property of the University of California). Additional photographs exist of other grapevine research done by USDA in various parts of the United States. These materials complement the USDA Bureau of Plant Industry Wine Research Collection (collection number 288) housed in Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.

Dates

Creation: 1892-1960
Creation: Majority of material found within 1902-1949

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Organizational History

In 1913, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bureau of Plant Industry combined the functions of its Offices of Horticultural Investigations, Pomological Investigations, and Field Investigations in Pomology, and named the new unit the Office of Horticultural and Pomological Investigations. This office researched plant breeding, cultivation, physiology, pathology, and disease, with a specific focus on crops. The office changed its name to the Office of Horticulture in 1926, and then merged with several other offices in 1928 to form the Office of Horticultural Crops and Diseases (later the Division of Fruit and Vegetable Crops and Diseases). In 1951, the division was split into the Division of Fruit and Nut Crops and Diseases and the Division of Vegetable Crops and Diseases, both within the Horticultural Crops Group. When USDA reorganized in 1953, the Horticultural Crops Group became the Horticultural Crops Research Branch.