Dr. Tracy Kahn is the curator of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Citrus Variety Collection, one of the world’s most diverse assemblages of citrus cultivars and their relatives. Consisting of at least 4 trees each of over 1000 different citrus cultivars and citrus relatives, this collection includes new and heirloom cultivars and relatives either developed at UCR or introduced from around the world over the 103 years since the collection was established. As curator she oversees the care of the collection, research on citrus diversity and facilitates research by other researchers who utilize the collection. The UCR Citrus Variety Collection is a resource for citrus growers, nursery owners, produce providers, chefs, students and the public. Dr. Kahn extends knowledge on citrus diversity by providing field days and tours of the collection, presentations, publications and assisting with fruit days at venues such as the Lindcove Research and Extension Center Fruit display in December, the World Ag Expo in February and the Citrus Mutual Citrus Showcase in March each year. She also collaborates with companies that utilize the citrus diversity of the Citrus Variety Collection as a stimulus for new beverage flavors and aromas for personal and household products.

In addition to being the curator, Dr. Kahn’s has funding from the Citrus Research Board, the market board for California citrus growers to provide initial evaluations of newly introduced cultivars and conducts field trials of selected promising cultivars to provide information for growers so they can make informed choices about which new cultivars are most likely to be successful and sustain productivity and profitability in California.