This was taken from my reading of one of UC's publication about rootstocks and their history:
Before 1880's, most of California Citrus groves were composed of seedling trees. Most popular are lemons and oranges planted in the missions and haciendas of Southern California.
Around 1872, the almost seedless Washington navels became so popular that there were not enough seeds to plant more navel trees, and so rootstocks became a necessity.
First rootstock used was sweet orange (C. sinensis) and used until the 1940's.
The next more popular rootstock starting around 1890's was the sour orange (C. aurantium) which tolerated phyhtopthora gummoosis and produced high-quality fruit.
Then the rough lemon (C. jambhiri) was introduced around 1900's as rootstock for lemons and grapefruits where it achieved high yields even in sandy desert areas, but alas, due to poor fruit quality and susceptibility to cold limited its use.
Then Cleopatra mandarin (C. reticulata) was used when trying to find tristeza-tolerant rootstocks. Its value was discovered in saline soils. It produced excellent quality grapefruits, but alas, it is susceptible to foot rot and also lost its popularity.
All the above rootstocks were popularly used in commercial citrus industry of California until the 1940's.
