Ludwig Schmitt (agricultural chemist)

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Ludwig Schmitt (born June 30, 1900 in Ohmes (Kr. Alsfeld ), † January 30, 1978 in Darmstadt ) was a German agricultural chemist .

Live and act

Ludwig Schmitt studied chemistry at the Technical University of Darmstadt , did his doctorate there in 1924 and one year later joined the Agricultural Research Station in Darmstadt, internationally known through the work of Paul Wagner, as a chemist . From 1933 Schmitt headed this research facility as managing director and from 1937 as scheduled director. In 1932 he had already acquired the Venia legendi for the field of agricultural chemistry at the Technical University of Darmstadt and has held lectures there ever since. In 1940 he was appointed adjunct professor.

In addition to his activities as head of the Darmstadt research station and as a university lecturer, Schmitt devoted himself intensively to tasks in the Association of German Agricultural Inspection and Research Institutes . From 1942 to 1945 (former name: "Reich Association of Agricultural Investigation Offices and Research Institutes") and from 1948 to 1967 he was president of this association. In 1949 he founded the journal Agricultural Research as the successor to the journal Die Landwirtschaftliche Versuchsstätten . As chief editor, he played a key role in shaping the scientific profile of this association journal.

Schmitt's research interests focused primarily on the problems of mineral fertilization . He has published more than 300 scientific articles and a variety of books and writings. A manual on the study of fertilizers (1941, 1952) - a standard methodological work for decades - deserves special mention. Particularly noteworthy of his later works are the publications Guidelines for the Evaluation of Fertilization Experiments (1959) and The Trace Nutrients in Modern Fertilizer Theory (1965). Schmitt knew how to present scientific findings in a clear, easily understandable form, for example in the agricultural textbooks he published (1949–1964).

For an understanding of contemporary agricultural science, Schmitt considered knowledge of its development history to be indispensable. In many of his publications he deals with historical contexts and puts the achievements of individual scientists in the right light. He published several articles about Justus von Liebig's services to agriculture. He paid tribute to the life's work of agricultural chemist Paul Wagner, his predecessor in office, in a book that was published in 1957 under the title When the ears of corn rustle .

Schmitt has received several awards for his services to agricultural science. Among other things, he received the Justus Liebig Prize from the University of Giessen, the Gold Medal of Merit from the International Association for Commercial Fertilizers, the Golden Honor Plaque from the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture and the Silver Max Eyth Medal from the German Agricultural Society.

Fonts

  • The influence of commercial fertilizers on plant growth and on various properties of low-lime mineral soils . Publishing company for arable farming Berlin 1932.
  • The lime fertilization . Reichsnährstandsverlag Berlin 1937; 4th edition 1943. 5th edition under the title Wegweiser für die Kalkdüngung . Justus v. Liebig Verlag Darmstadt 1950.
  • The study of fertilizers . Neumann Verlag Radebeul and Berlin 1941; 2nd edition ibid. 1954 = Handbook of agricultural research methodology (method book) Vol. 2.
  • Agricultural textbooks . Justus v. Liebig Verlag Darmstadt, issues 1-7, 1949-1964. In it, among other things: cycle of soil fertility , volume 1, 1949; The past and present power of mineral fertilization H. 4, 1959; The effect value of fertilizer nitrogen through the ages H. 5, 1960.
  • From the blessing of the right fertilization. A revision of the DLG fertilizer primer . DLG publishing company Frankfurt am Main 1954; 2nd edition, ibid. 1958.
  • 75 years of Thomas phosphate. A historical development review with important practical experience of many years of experimental work . JD Sauerländer´s publishing house Frankfurt am Main 1954.
  • When the wheat fields rustle. Paul Wagner's research life for agriculture . DLG publishing company Frankfurt am Main 1957.
  • Guidelines for the evaluation of fertilization trials . DLG publishing company Frankfurt am Main 1959.
  • The trace nutrients in modern fertilizer theory . JD Sauerländer´s publishing house Frankfurt am Main 1965.
  • Justus von Liebig's great gift to humanity . In: Landwirtschaftliche Forschung, special issue 29, 1973, pp. 28–37.
  • 75 years of Darmstadt meadow fertilization trials with results from the oldest exact trials on the European mainland (with Alice Brauer). JD Sauerländer´s publishing house Frankfurt am Main 1979.

literature

  • F. Scheffer: Ludwig Schmitt on his 60th birthday. In: Agricultural Research. Volume 13, 1960, pp. 151-152.
  • O. Siegel: In memoriam Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Ludwig Schmitt. In: Agricultural Research. Volume 31, 1978, after p. 290 (with picture).
  • A. Finck: Ludwig Schmitt (1900–1978). In: VDLUFA series of publications. Volume 28 / I. Congress volume 1988 Bonn. VDLUFA, Darmstadt 1989, pp. 175-179.
  • Siegfried Müller:  Schmitt, Ludwig. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-428-11204-3 , p. 239 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schmitt, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German agricultural chemist
DATE OF BIRTH June 30, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Ohmes
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1978
Place of death Darmstadt