Albert Howard
Sir Albert Howard ( December 8, 1873 - October 20, 1947 ) was a British mycologist and a pioneer of organic farming .
Life
He was a lecturer in agriculture at the Imperial Department of Agriculture in Barbados . Originally strictly chemically oriented, he discovered that the indigenous people there achieved astonishingly high yields with natural crop rotation even without fertilization .
In 1905 Howard was appointed "Imperial Botanist of the Indian Government" by the British. In the city of Indore , Howard grew plants on a specially designated area without the use of herbicides and pesticides . He did not use any artificial fertilizers, only compost , which consisted of stored waste from plants and animals.
Over time, Howard optimized the process and developed the “Indore mixture” named after the research location - a special compost. Howard's trial fields remained disease free. The cattle that were fed exclusively with these plants were also free from foot-and-mouth disease . Howard returned to England in 1934 and was knighted as a Knight Bachelor by the British Crown on June 27 for his services .
Together with Eve Balfour , Howard is now considered one of the founders of organic farming in Great Britain. Howard was married to the botanist Gabrielle Matthaei .
literature
- Sir Albert Howard: My Agricultural Testament . OLV, 2004, ISBN 3-922201-01-6 .
- Sir Albert Howard: The Waste Products of Agriculture. Their Utilization as Humus. The original can be read here: Waste Products of Agriculture - Albert Howard - ToC
- Philip Conford: The Origins of the Organic Movement. Edinburgh 2001, ISBN 0-86315-336-4 .
- Sir Albert Howard writes… In: Die Zeit , No. 10/1949.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Knights and Dames at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Howard, Albert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British mycologist and natural farming pioneer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 8, 1873 |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 20, 1947 |