History
 IIIII i I IIII I I I


 The Leesburg Field Laboratory was
 established by the 1929 Florida leg-
 islature as a branch unit of the Ag-
 ricultural Experiment Stations of the
 University of Florida, primarily to
 conduct research on disease and in-
 sect problems of watermelon. Two
 watermelon diseases, Fusarium wilt
 and anthracnose, were threatening
 to destroy the state's thriving wa-
 termelon industry (approximately
 30,000 acres), which was then
 centered in the Leesburg area. In
 addition the Laboratory was com-
 missioned to study the insect pests
 and diseases of ferns and ornamen-
 tals, also grown extensively in cen-
 tral Florida.
 The 1931 Annual Report of the
 Florida Agricultural Experiment
 Stations reported as follows: "At
 Leesburg... the Board of Control
 authorized the acceptance of land
 offered by the local people as a site
 for the laboratory ." The original
 laboratory was located near the east
 city limits of Leesburg in a 2-room
 frame building containing a labora-
 tory and office. At this site there
 was also a greenhouse (presently used
 at the new Center location), a stor-
 age shed, and screenhouse. The
 laboratory building was heated with
 a pot-bellied stove during the win-
 ter until a central hot-water heating
 system was installed in 1950.
 Salary and expense appropria-
 tions for the Watermelon and Or-
 namental Laboratory were $15,000
 in 1929-30, $10,000 in 1930-31,
 and only $8,558 the following two
years when both banks closed in


Leesburg. Appropriations for the
Watermelon Investigations Labora-
tory, as it was called during the mid-
and late-1930's, was boosted by a
separate $3,500 annual appropria-
tion for grape pest research begin-
ning in 1933-34. This was sparked
by efforts of the Florida Grape
Growers Association, which sent
three people to Tallahassee to re-
quest help for Florida's diseased
vineyards. By 1940-41 the appropri-
ation for watermelon research was
$10,000 and for grape $3,500. The
two were combined in 1941-42, and
the name Watermelon and Grape
Investigations Laboratory was
adopted. The war-time 1944-45
budget jumped to $20,915, and the
name was changed to Watermelon,
Grape, and Sea Island Cotton In-
vestigations Laboratory. In 1948,
with no further cotton work under
way, the prior name, Watermelon
and Grape Investigations Labora-
tory, was used once again. In 1971
this unit of the Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences was desig-
nated the Agricultural Research
Center, Leesburg.
 A 77-acre research farm was orig-
inally located 5 miles west of Lees-
burg near the town of Whitney.
Facilities at the farm included an
equipment storage and garage build-
ing, a screenhouse, and a hand pump
well.
 By 1952 the Whitney farm land
was no longer suited for producing
watermelons. Repeated and inten-
sive cropping of watermelons had
caused a buildup of nematodes,


weeds, and soil fungi, including the
fungus causing wilt. It was neces-
sary to rent land adjacent to the
Whitney Farm for field research
to continue.
 Because of these problems a search
 for a new research farm and labora-
 tory site was begun in 1955. In April
 1958 the entire physical facilities of
 the Laboratory were moved to 6
 miles south of Leesburg on U. S.
 Highway 27. At this location a 163-
 acre research farm and a separate
 2-acre laboratory site were situated.
 The office-laboratory building
constructed thereon, overlooking a
picturesque lake, includes 5 office
rooms, 3 storage rooms, and 2 lab-
oratories. A headhouse building with
two greenhouses has also been built
at this site. Another 2 acres adjoin-
ing this property were added in 1972.
The physical facilities of the re-
search farm include a large equip-
ment and storage bam, a tool storage
and machine shop building, two
screenhouses, a 10-inch well for ir-
rigation, and several other small
buildings. Approximately 100 acres
were added to the 163 acres in 1972,
for a total of 262 acres on the pres-
ent research farm.
 Three different plant pathologists
have had responsibility for the lead-
ership of the research program and
operations of the Agricultural Re-
search Center, Leesburg, from 1929
to the present: Dr. M. N. Walker
(Nov., 1929 thru June, 1942), Dr.
G. K. Parris (Feb., 1945 thru June,
1951), and Dr. J. M. Crall (Oct.,
1952 thru 1977). Other plant pa-