Gerhard Geisler (agricultural scientist)

Gerhard Geisler

Gerhard Geisler (born August 30, 1927 in Berlin ; † July 13, 2010 in Kiel ) was a German crop scientist . From 1969 to 1992 he taught at the University of Kiel . His research focus was the ecophysiology of yield formation in agricultural crops with special consideration of the root growth.

Life

Gerhard Geisler, son of a senate councilor at the German Patent Office, attended the humanistic high school in Berlin-Zehlendorf after primary school . In February 1943 he was drafted first as an air force helper and in December 1944 as a soldier in the Wehrmacht . After a year as a prisoner of war , he returned to his hometown in 1946. He began studying agriculture at the University of Berlin (today: Humboldt University) and completed a two-year agricultural apprenticeship. After passing the exam to become a qualified farmer , he continued his studies at the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan in 1951 . Under the aegis of Gustav Aufhammer , he received his doctorate there in 1953 with a legally oriented dissertation " Investigations into the possibilities of protecting the success of plant breeding ".

As early as 1952, Geisler was working as a scientific assistant at the Geilweilerhof Institute for Vine Breeding . His main research interest was the ecophysiology of grapevines . In addition to gas metabolism, the relationships between drought stress and root growth were the focus of his experiments. In further investigations he was able to trace complex breeding goals such as “yield” and “environmental adaptation” back to partial aspects and thus also gain new knowledge about the genetic structure of grapevines.

In addition to his scientific work at the Geilweilerhof, Geisler has been training as a trainee lawyer since 1955 . In 1959 he passed the state examination as an agricultural assessor for the office of plant breeding manager.

In 1960 Geisler successfully applied for a globally advertised position as a plant breeder at the leading scientific Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization ( CSIRO , Division of Plant Industry) in Australia. For two years he worked as Senior Research Officer, first at a tobacco research institute in Mareeba ( Queensland ) and then for 18 months at the same organization (Horticultural Section) at the Division of Horticultural Research in Merbein ( Victoria ). There he crossed rootstocks. In addition to the current scientific tasks at the institutes, questions of root growth remained a focus of his experimental research.

In 1964 Geisler returned to Germany. He continued his scientific career as an assistant at the Institute for Arable and Crop Production at the Agricultural University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim . In 1967 he completed his habilitation with a thesis on " Soil air and plant growth with special consideration of the roots ". In 1969 he followed a call to the University of Kiel , where he took over the chair for plant cultivation and plant breeding. As head of the institute of the same name, he worked here until his retirement in 1992.

Research and Teaching

Gerhard Geisler's research at the University of Kiel focused on questions about the formation of yields in rape , maize and wheat under the aspect of cultivation-related issues. A special focus was on experimental work on the ecophysiology of the root systems of these cultivated plant species, their morphological changes with different environmental factors, the diverse interactions in the absorption of water and nutrients and their influence on the formation of generative organs. In particular, the morphogenetic effect of nitrogen on root development and growth was investigated.

Together with numerous employees, graduate students and doctoral students, Geisler has put the ecophysiology of the yield formation of agricultural crops into the focus of crop science at his institute at the University of Kiel . 43 dissertations and more than 230 articles in specialist journals are documents of this ecophysiologically oriented plant cultivation research. Several of Geisler's students completed their habilitation and were appointed to central chairs for crop production in Germany and in other European countries.

As a scientist, Geisler set clear research priorities, but as a university lecturer he represented crop science in a comprehensive range of subjects. He made a name for himself as a textbook author far beyond his area of ​​expertise . His main works " Plant cultivation in keywords " (1970/71), " Plant cultivation " (1980, 2nd edition 1988), " Yield formation of cultivated plants " (1981), " Yield physiology of cultivated types of the temperate climate " (1983) and the " Color Atlas Agricultural Cultivated Plants ”(1991) were didactically exemplary introductions and guides to the science of plant cultivation for several generations of students. From 1975 to 2002 Geisler published the "Zeitschrift für Acker- und Pflanzenbau", which at the time was still predominantly German, and transformed it into an international specialist journal with articles in English. Since 1986 it has been published under the title "Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science".

As a professor and director of the institute, Geisler not only represented his scientific area of ​​expertise, but also saw himself as responsible for being a self-governing institution at the university as a public institution. He had clear ideas about the goals and tasks of the university, which not only has to serve vocational training, but is also committed to general education in a fundamental function. He therefore worked with great commitment in academic self-administration . During the 1971/72 term of office he was rector of the university and from 1974 to 1977 dean of the agricultural faculty. He took over the chairmanship of the Faculty Day of the agricultural science faculties of the Federal Republic of Germany for two years . In the troubled times of the 1970s, through constant willingness to discuss with the students, he made a considerable contribution to maintaining an orderly course of study at Kiel University.

Geisler has commented on fundamental questions in scientific development in several contributions . His lecture “ Thoughts on science in our time with special consideration of plant production ”, published in 1994 in the journal “Landbauforschung Völkenrode”, deserves special mention - a contribution that is still relevant today about the position of science and research in our society and about the social responsibility of scientists to justify their activities to the public.

Geisler's autobiography , published in 2002 under the title " 1927ff .: Ein Weg durch Welten " ( A Path Through Worlds ) is not only noteworthy for crop scientists - lively memories that take into account the political and social events of the respective phases of life.

From 1988 to 1990 Gerhard Geisler was chairman of the Society for Crop Science . In 2007 this scientific society made him an honorary member .

Books and writings

• Investigations into the possibilities of protecting the success of plant breeding . Diss. Techn. University of Munich 1953. Maschinenschr. multiply
• Soil air and plant growth with special consideration of the roots . Habil.-Schr. Agricultural University of Hohenheim. Verlag Eugen Ulmer Stuttgart 1967 = Work of the Agricultural University Hohenheim Volume 40.
• Crop production in a nutshell . Publishing house Ferdinand Hirt Kiel. Volume 1: The Cultivated Plants 1970; Volume 2: Income generation 1971.
• University in transition . Inaugural address by the rector Gerhard Geisler on the occasion of the assumption of the rectorate of the Christian-Albrechts-Universität on May 6, 1971. Kiel 1971.
• Crop production. A textbook - biological principles and technology of plant production . Paul Parey Publishing House Berlin and Hamburg 1980; 2nd edition, ibid. 1988.
• Yield formation of cultivated plants . Scientific Book Society Darmstadt 1981 = Income from Research Volume 149.
• The objectives, content and organization of agricultural studies at a glance - the university area . In: Fredeburger Hefte. No. 10, 1981, pp. 9-21.
• Yield physiology of cultivated species in temperate climates . Publisher Paul Parey Berlin and Hamburg 1983.
• Color atlas of agricultural crops . Publishing house Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1991.
• Thoughts on science in our time with a special focus on plant production . In: Landbauforschung Völkenrode. Vol. 44, 1994, pp. 235-242.
• 1927ff .: A way through worlds. Memories - reflections . Publishing house Dr. Kovac Hamburg 2002 = Series of Memoirs, Volume 49.

literature

• Norbert Knauer: On the 60th birthday of Prof. Dr. Gerhard Geisler . In: Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. Vol. 159, 1987, pp. 147-148 (with picture).
• Josef Nösberger: Professor Geisler on his 65th birthday . In: Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. Volume 169, 1992, pp. I-II (with picture).
• Peter Stamp: Gerhard Geisler - Professor Emeritus of Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel on his 80th birthday . In: Crop Science. Volume 11, 2007, p. 84.

Web links

• Literature by and about Gerhard Geisler in the catalog of the German National Library