State Institute for Vine Breeding
The State Institute for Vine Breeding was a state teaching and research institute in Rhineland-Palatinate . It mainly dealt with the breeding of new grape varieties , the preservation of protected grape varieties and clone selection . The state institute was based in Alzey .
history
The state institute emerged from the predecessors of the Rheinhessische Rebschulen . These were brought into being in 1909 under the chairmanship of Philipp Wolff from Albig . Georg Scheu was appointed as head . At first it was a matter of ensuring the supply of seedlings, but Scheu quickly recognized the value of crossbreeding and clone selection. The grape varieties classified today: Huxelrebe , Faberrebe , Scheurebe , Siegerrebe , Kanzler and other Alzeyer new varieties go back to his successful activity.
After the founding of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the breeding tasks were transferred to the state and continued in the state institute for grapevine breeding. Scheu died in Alzey in 1949. To this day, he is undisputedly considered a pioneer of German viticulture and a successful German vine grower.
His successors Hans Breider , Edmund Zimmermann and Otmar Bauer continued the work in Alzey and brought the Scheu varieties to the classification and distribution in German viticulture, while the main focus of clone selection was set, especially at Portugieser and Silvaner .
In 1973, after intensive discussion about a possible closure of the institute, the new building on the Alzeyer Römerberg in the middle of the test areas could be moved into. In the following years structural expansions took place and the tasks of the central office for clone selection and document breeding at SO4 and Binova were taken over. The director of the institution Dr. Bauer retired in 1997.
In 1997, Agricultural Director Werner Hofäcker was commissioned to manage it, and one year later, on August 1, 1998, the State Institute for Vine Breeding was given up as an independent department and incorporated into the state teaching and research institute Oppenheim . The location initially remained at Alzeyer Römerberg, but overall tasks and personnel were constantly reduced.
In 2003 a comprehensive reform of the agricultural administration was carried out in Rhineland-Palatinate . Numerous state benefits were dismantled and agricultural administration departments were closed. The State Institute for Vine Breeding was closed at the end of 2003, in the 94th year of its existence.
Personnel and remaining tasks were transferred to the Service Center for Rural Areas (DLR) Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück in Oppenheim. Clone selection and document breeding are continued there today.
The year 2009 would have been the 100th anniversary of the State Institute for Grapevine Breeding, which could no longer be celebrated in this form in Alzey. Nevertheless, the catchwords shy, grapevine breeding and Alzey remain closely linked. It remains the task of the DLR Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück, as the successor institution of the traditional state institute for grapevine breeding, to commemorate Georg Scheu's achievements for German viticulture in the anniversary year.
The site was auctioned in 2006, and today the Drinkable Landscapes winery is located in the former premises of the State Institute .
literature
- Otmar Bauer: The State Institute for Vine Breeding in Alzey. ; Heimatjahrbuch Landkreis Alzey-Worms. 28. 1993. Alzey-Worms 1992,
- Otmar Bauer: The new breeders at the State Institute for Vine Breeding in Alzey. ; Festschrift: 700 Years of the City of Alzey, Alzey 1977. (= Alzeyer Geschichtsblätter. Special issue. 7.), pp. 254–260.