Albrecht Jungk

Albrecht Jungk (born December 13, 1929 in Neudietendorf , Thuringia ) is a German agricultural chemist in the field of plant nutrition . He taught at the universities of Hanover and Göttingen. His research focus was the rhizosphere , primarily the nutrient dynamics in the border area between plant roots and soil.

Albrecht Jungk

Life path

Albrecht Jungk, son of an engineer and entrepreneur, completed an apprenticeship as a gardener in Thuringia after graduating from high school in Erfurt and studied horticulture at the Technical University of Hanover since 1952 . In 1960 he received his doctorate there with a dissertation on substrate nutrients in horticultural pot cultures. As a scientific assistant and senior assistant at the Institute for Plant Nutrition at the Technical University of Hanover, headed by Karl Rathsack , he worked in the following years, particularly on the ion balance of plants. In 1966 he acquired the Venia legendi for the field of plant nutrition . Since then he has taught and researched as a university lecturer, from 1970 as a scientific adviser and professor at the Institute for Plant Nutrition at the TU Hannover.

In 1972/73 Jungk stayed as a visiting scientist for a year with the agricultural chemist Stanley A. Barber at Purdue University (USA). Here he received lasting suggestions for researching the interactions between roots and soil in the process of mineral nutrition of plants. In 1983 he followed a call from the University of Göttingen . At the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, he took over the chair for agricultural chemistry, which he held until retirement. He turned down appointments from the Universities of Bonn and Hanover.

Research and Teaching

The rhizosphere was the central research area of ​​Jungk in Göttingen. Above all, he examined processes of the transition of minerals from the soil into the plant and the factors that determine them causally. He particularly studied the phenomenon of changes in concentration, which occur to a significant extent in the soil near the roots as a result of the uptake of a nutrient in the plant on the one hand and its transport from the soil on the other. In numerous experiments, he has shown that in addition to the chemically determined availability of nutrients, their mobility in the soil and thus their local accessibility are also essential for the nutrient supply. As a result, Jungk introduced the term " spatial nutrient accessibility " into the technical terminology of plant nutrition. In connection with this, it emerged that the ability of plants to acquire nutrients depends largely on the morphological and physiological properties of the roots. In order to understand the species-specific behavior of plants, his investigations extended to the architecture of the root systems as well as to specific deposits of the roots in the adjacent soil and the importance of these factors for the nutrition of the plants.

Jungk checked the interrelationships initially recognized in the laboratory in extensive field tests at different locations. The test results confirmed the correctness of his conception of the spatial accessibility of the plant nutrients. This resulted in close cooperation with advisory institutions in agricultural practice and "old" recommendations for the level of phosphate and potash fertilization in agriculture could be adapted to the new findings.

The list of publications of Jungk includes 120 publications in scientific journals and manuals. Many of his English-language contributions received a lot of international attention and Jungk was one of the most competent rhizosphere researchers of his time. As a senior professor for visiting scholars from abroad, he has always been a sought-after discussion partner. He led 20 doctoral students to doctorate.

Of his summarizing reviews, the following are to be emphasized: “ Fundamentals for the rational use of plant nutrients in the soil ” (1990), “ Dynamics of nutrient movement at the soil-root interface ” (1991; 3rd edition 2002), “ The plant availability of nutrients in the Soil: chemical and spatial aspects ”(1993),“ Plant nutrients and fertilizers ”(1995) and the contribution“ Ion diffusion in the soil-root system ”(1997) , written together with Norbert Claassen .

As a recognized scientist, Jungk has taken on numerous voluntary tasks proposed to him: from 1980 to 1989 he was a member of the board of the German Society for Plant Nutrition , from 1984 to 1987 expert reviewer for agricultural chemistry at the German Research Foundation and from 1984 to 1987 chairman of Commission IV (soil fertility and Plant nutrition) of the German Soil Science Society . From 1984 to 1987 he headed the "Rhizosphere" working group at the International Soil Science Society. From 1990 to 1993 he was Vice President of the Association of German Agricultural Investigations and Research Institutes , which made him an honorary member in 1995. From 1978 to 1990, Jungk played a key role in shaping the scientific profile of the “Journal for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science” as editor for plant nutrition.

Fonts

• About the determination of substrate nutrients, especially with rapid methods and the informative value of the results for horticultural pot cultures . Diss. Techn. Hochsch. Hanover, Faculty of Horticulture and Regional Culture 1960. Typescript.
• Investigations into the cation-anion balance in plants and its importance for yield . Habil.-Schr. Techn. Hochsch. Hanover, Faculty of Horticulture and Regional Culture 1965. Typescript.
• Mineral and water content depending on the development of the plants . In: Journal for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Vol. 125, 1970, pp. 119–129.
• Phosphate uptake characteristics of intact root systems in nutrient solution as affected by plant species, age and P-supply . In: Proceedings of the International Colloquium of Plant Analysis and Fertilizer Problems. Hanover 1974, pp. 185-196.
• Phosphate dynamics in the rhizosphere and phosphate availability for plants . In: Die Bodenkultur Vol. 35, 1984, pp. 165-172.
• Basics for the rational use of the plant nutrients in the soil . In: Changing Plant Production. New Aspects in Agricultural Sciences. Edited by G. Haug, G. Schuhmann and G. Fischbeck. VCH Verlagsgesellschaft Weinheim 1990, pp. 197–225. - 2nd edition ibid. 1992.
• Dynamics of nutrient movement at the soil-root interface . In: Plant Roots. The Hidden Half. Edited by Y. Waisel, U. Kafkafi and U. Eshel. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, Basel, Hong Kong 1991, pp. 455-481; 2nd edition ibid. 1996, pp. 529-566; 3rd edition ibid. 2002, pp. 587–616.
• The plant availability of nutrients in the soil: chemical and spatial aspects . In: Reports on Agriculture, Special Issue 207, 1993, pp. 70–85.
• Plant nutrients and fertilizers . In: Harmful Effects on Plants. Edited by B. Hock and EF Elstner. 3rd edition. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin, Oxford 1995, pp. 292-314.
• Ion diffusion in the soil-root system (together with Norbert Claassen). In: Advances in Agronomy Vol. 61, 1997, pp. 53-110.

literature

• Albrecht Olaf Jungk . In: Catalogus Professorum 1831-1981. Festschrift for the 150th anniversary of the University of Hanover, Vol. 2. Verlag W. Kohlhammer Stuttgart 1981, p. 133 (with picture).
• Norbert Claassen, Eberhard Przemeck and Wilhelm Römer: Prof. Dr. Albrecht Jungk on his 70th birthday . In: Journal for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science Vol. 162, 1999, pp. 559-560 (with picture on p. 557).

Web links

• Literature by and about Albrecht Jungk in the catalog of the German National Library