Thomas Scharnagel

Thomas Scharnagel (born March 7, 1880 on the Rothof in Bamberg , † March 7, 1953 in Freising ) was a German seed expert and plant breeder . From 1928 to 1948 he was director of the Bavarian State Plant Breeding Institute in Weihenstephan .

Life

Thomas Scharnagel, son of a long-established Franconian farming family, studied agriculture in Weihenstephan and Munich since 1906. In the same year he became a member of the Corps Donaria zu Freising-Weihenstephan . In 1909, after passing the state examination as a scientific assistant, he entered the Bavarian State Plant Breeding Institute in Weihenstephan . In 1911 he was appointed district seed inspector for Upper Bavaria and in 1921 government councilor 1st class and head of department. As Ludwig Kießling's successor , he ran this seed breeding establishment from 1928 to 1949.

In the twenty years of his directorate, Scharnagel has expanded the Bavarian State Plant Breeding Institute into an institution of international importance. His personal research focus was the breeding of high-yielding wheat varieties with high baking quality . The wheat varieties "Tassilo", "Walthari" and "Tacca" that were developed under his leadership were also widely used outside of Bavaria. Scharnagel also sustainably promoted quality and resistance breeding in other cultivated plant species, e.g. B. in potatoes , oil plants and legumes . His more than 300 publications have appeared mainly in practical agricultural magazines. As an honorary professor, Scharnagel held lectures on plant breeding and variety science at the agricultural department of the Technical University of Munich .

Publications (selection)

• Investigations into the relationship of the wheat variety to baking ability . In: Research in the field of plant cultivation and plant breeding. Festschrift for the seventieth birthday of Kurt von Rümker. Publishing House Paul Parey Berlin 1929, pp. 127–145.
• The Bavarian State Plant Breeding Institute in Weihenstephan, its significance and its work . In: The nutrition of the plant vol. 33, 1937, pp. 235-236.

literature

• K. Weller: Professor Thomas Scharnagel 70 years . In: Journal of Plant Breeding . Volume 29, 1951, pp. 114-116 (with picture).
• Professor Thomas Scharnagel, Weihenstephan † . In: Seed Economy . Volume 5, 1953, p. 104.
• K. Weller: Professor Thomas Scharnagel † . In: Bayerisches Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt . Year 143, 1953, p. 372 (with picture).