Helmut Becker (oenologist)

Helmut Becker (born March 8, 1927 in Geisenheim ; † July 19, 1990 Geisenheim) was one of the world's leading experts in viticulture and especially in grapevine breeding.

Life

After finishing school in Geisenheim and serving in the Reich Air Force due to the war, Becker was taken prisoner in the United States . Returning to Germany, he studied natural sciences from 1946 to 1949 at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz . After his state examination , he received his doctorate in natural sciences (rer. Nat.) Under Wolfgang von Buddenbrock at the University of Mainz in 1954 . The topic of his dissertation was "Contributions to the physiology of phylloxera ( Phylloxera vitifolia Fitch.)".

1952-53 he was a researcher and agricultural trainee at the State Viticulture Institute in Freiburg . In 1953 Helmut Becker switched to the research institute for phylloxera control and reconstruction of the state teaching and research institute in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse . Here he made a lasting contribution to combating the phylloxera problem in the Palatinate as well as to the reconstruction of the desolate viticulture in the southern Palatinate after the war .

In 1964 Becker returned to his hometown and took over the management of the institute for grapevine breeding and refinement at the Hessian teaching and research institute for viticulture, fruit growing and horticulture in Geisenheim. He took over from Professor Heinrich Birk , who was already a well-known vine grower. Becker continued this work in the following 26 years at the institute until the end of his life, and in the process acquired an even greater national and international reputation. One focus of his work was the breeding of phylloxera-resistant rootstocks as well as the breeding of fungus-resistant interspecific crosses and clone selection. The range of documents he created in Geisenheim is unique in Germany. Becker also devoted himself intensively to the subject of vine grafting and the qualitative improvement of the supply of plant material through the introduction of new phytosanitary measures and the creation of contemporary legal requirements. Among other things, this led to the co-founding of the Association of German Vine Plant Suppliers in 1969, of which he was chairman until his death in 1990.

When the Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences was established in 1971 , Becker took over the office of founding dean in Geisenheim in the then newly founded department of viticulture and beverage technology, which he held until 1975. His diverse activities also included the continuation and further development of the vine-growing conferences in Geisenheim, which he helped to gain international reputation. The results of his work on breeding new fungus and phylloxera-resistant grape varieties included the new varieties Ehrenbreitsteiner (bred in 1964 / recognized in 1994), Dakapo (1972/1999), Prinzipal (1971/1997), Rondo (mid-late 1960s / 1995) and Saphira (1978/1995).

From 1983 Helmut Becker took on a teaching position at the University of Bonn , which made him an honorary professor in 1986 . There were also guest stays in Australia and New Zealand , each lasting several months. In many countries around the world such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Canada , Becker was responsible for the introduction of regionally suitable grape varieties, for example for the introduction of the Müller-Thurgau grape variety in New Zealand. In 1982 the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany awarded him the Federal Cross of Merit in recognition of his internationally respected scientific work .

Helmut Becker's scientific life's work can be found today in addition to the grape varieties he bred and in more than 340 publications, for example in collaboration with Hans Ambrosi as editor of the book “Der deutsche Wein”. One of his main works was the series "Problems of Vine Refinement" which appeared from 1958 to 1981 in a total of 12 volumes. His early death in 1990 left a large gap at the research institute in Geisenheim, as the obituary in issue No. 21/1990 of the publication Der Deutsche Weinbau shows .

Some grape varieties bred by Helmut Becker at the Geisenheim Research Station:

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  Saphira

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  rondo

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  Principal

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  Dakapo

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  Ehrenbreitsteiner

literature

• Hans Ambrosi, Helmut Becker: The German viticulture. Gräfe and Unzer Munich, 1978, ISBN 3-7742-1010-1 .
• Gerhard Röbbelen (Ed.): Biographical lexicon for the history of plant breeding. 3rd episode Society for Plant Breeding Göttingen, Issue 66, 2004. P. 11 ff. DNB 973038209 .

Web links

• Personalities of wine culture - Helmut Becker on the website of the Society for the History of Wine