Hermann Müller-Thurgau
Hermann Müller-Thurgau (born October 21, 1850 in Tägerwilen , Canton Thurgau ; † January 18, 1927 in Wädenswil ), actually Hermann Müller , was a Swiss plant physiologist , botanist , oenologist and vine breeder. He named himself Müller-Thurgau after his home canton . Its official botanical author's abbreviation is “ Müll.-Thurg. "
Life
Müller-Thurgau came from a family of bakers and winemakers , first attended the teachers' seminar in Kreuzlingen near Konstanz and in 1869 became a teacher at the municipal secondary school in Stein am Rhein . He then studied at the Polytechnic in Zurich, today's ETH , where he graduated in the fall of 1872 with a subject teacher diploma for natural sciences.
After studying at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), he moved from 1872 to 1876 to Julius Sachs at the former Botanical Institute of the University of Würzburg , where he received his doctorate in 1874 and worked as his assistant for two years.
From 1876 to 1890 he worked in a managerial position at the plant physiology test station at the Geisenheim research institute . In 1891 he was appointed to the German-Swiss experimental station for fruit growing, viticulture and horticulture in Wädenswil , today's Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil (ACW), which he took over.
Act
Müller-Thurgau is best known today for the Müller-Thurgau grape variety named after him , which he announced as a new breed at the Geisenheim (Rheingau) viticulture school in 1882. He took the seedlings to Switzerland. After crossing, Müller-Thurgau was no longer sure from which crossing partners this new breed had originated. However, Riesling was considered relatively safe as one of the original varieties. As a result, the new grape variety was presented as a breed from the Riesling and Silvaner varieties . Based on genetic research since 1998, it turned out that it was actually a cross between the Riesling (mother) and Madeleine Royale (father) varieties . Madeleine Royal is a breed from the Chasselas ( Gutedel ) range.
He also worked on groundbreaking research in the fields of vine physiology (including flower biology and assimilation and metabolic processes), and phytopathology of the vine (especially on downy mildew , botrytis , red burner ). Müller-Thurgau was the first to recognize and research the connections between climatic influences and periods of rest in vines, flower bulbs and fruit trees.
In the winery industry, he researched ways to control alcoholic fermentation , the biological degradation of acids and undesirable developments in fermentation and maturation of the wine. He grew fermentation strains with special properties and worked on methods for producing alcohol-free grape juices. At the suggestion of his friend Auguste Forel , Müller-Thurgau expanded these experiments to include methods for producing non-fermented fruit juices, in particular apple and pear juices. Müller-Thurgau is regarded worldwide as a pioneer in the field of unfermented pasteurized fruit juices .
Fonts
330 publications are known from Müller-Thurgau, in the fields of plant physiology (103), plant diseases (85), vine breeding (7!), Fermentation biology (111) and various others (24). Among other things:
- About sugar accumulation on parts of plants as a result of low temperatures (1882)
- Noble rot of grapes (1887)
- About the freezing and freezing of plants (1879)
- The production of unfermented and alcohol-free fruit and grape wines (1896)
- Dependence of the development of grape berries on the development of the seeds (1897)
- The red burner of the vine (1903)
- Bacteriocysts (1908)
- Bacteria in Wine (1913)
Private life
Müller-Thurgau was active in the Swiss Alpine Club . He had three daughters with his wife Bertha Biegen from Oestrich im Rheingau , whom he married in 1881. The husband of his eldest daughter succeeded him in Wädenswil.
Honors
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Bern (1920)
- Honorary member of the German Viticulture Association (1890)
Individual evidence
- ^ Würzburg, Klinikstrasse 3: plaque in memory of Hermann Müller-Thurgau. He worked at the Botanical Institute of the University of Würzburg from 1872 to 1876.
- ^ Theodor Böttiger: The wines of Germany. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1974, p. 40.
- ↑ Klaus Schaller: The work of Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Hermann Müller-Thurgau at 125 years of Müller-Thurgau August 2007
- ^ Walter Müller: The person of Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Hermann Müller-Thurgau at 125 years of Müller-Thurgau August 2007
literature
- Erich Trösch: Müller [Müller-Thurgau], Hermann. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Günter Staudt : Müller-Thurgau, Hermann. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 18, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-428-00199-0 , p. 510 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Robert Fritzsche: Hermann Müller-Thurgau. Swiss pioneer in business and technology. Association for Economic Studies (publisher), Zurich, 2000 (special edition).
- Gustav Schmid: Hermann Müller-Thurgau the plant physiologist . In: Thurgauer Jahrbuch , Vol. 55, 1980, pp. 119–126. ( e-periodica.ch )
Web links
- Müller-Thurgau at Society for the History of Wine
- Literature by and about Hermann Müller-Thurgau in the catalog of the German National Library
- Author entry and list of the described plant names for Hermann Müller-Thurgau at the IPNI
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Müller-Thurgau, Hermann |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Müller, Hermann (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss botanist, oenologist and vine grower |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 21, 1850 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tägerwilen , Canton Thurgau, Switzerland |
DATE OF DEATH | January 18, 1927 |
Place of death | Waedenswil , Canton of Zurich, Switzerland |