Norbert J. Becker (9 July 1937,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

- 7 May 2012,

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

) was a German agricultural scientist, specializing in vine breeding and

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

Early life

Becker spent his youth on a vineyard near Wiesbaden in the

Rheingau The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch, Hesse, Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the Western Taunus to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of Hesse and is part ...

. While still at secondary school he helped out there and as a waiter in the vineyard‘s inn, became used to the aura of Rhineland wine culture. After his school years at the humanistic Dilthey-Gymnasium in Wiesbaden (in 1958), he completed his military service as an officer candidate. He was for two years an apprentice in practical agriculture and then studied agricultural science at the Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen, obtaining a diploma in 1964. Becker was an assistant at the Orcharding Institute of the same university and a doctoral student at the Forschungsanstalt

Geisenheim Geisenheim is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany, and is known as ''Weinstadt'' (“Wine Town”), ''Schulstadt'' (“School Town”), ''Domstadt'' (“Cathedral Town� ...

(Geisenheim Research Institute) where he obtained the degree Dr. agr. in 1968. He then started as a trainee at the State Ministry of Agriculture in Hessen.

Career

At the beginning of 1970 he entered service with the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

at the Federal Institute of Viticulture in Freiburg (Staatlichen Weinbauinstitut Freiburg.) His area of work involved vine cultivation (Rebenzüchtung) and

. During his tenure fungus-resistant new cultivars were developed (Reben-Neuzuchten), that can be grown practically without spraying (with

fungicide Fungicides are pesticides used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in losses of yield and quality. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals, ...

). The most promising of these, and also those of his predecessor Johannes Zimmermann were tested in the institute‘s cultures, in vineyards (Winzerbetrieben) and then developed to the stage when they could be used in practice. Among these are the following vine types: Johanniter,

Bronner Bronner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Augusta Fox Bronner (1881–1966), American psychologist and author * David Bronner (born 1973), American soap company executive and activist * David G. Bronner (born 1945), Americ ...

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

and the red wine types

Prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

, Cabernet Cortis, and

Cabernet Carbon Cabernet can refer to several different things: Wine grape varieties * Cabernet Sauvignon, a hybrid of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon blanc, one of the most popular wine grapes in the world * Cabernet Franc, a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon and most ...

. Becker taught viticulture students and master vintagers. In his spare time, he led Saturday viticulture excursions in the frame of the "general studies“ programme of the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

. In retirement, he followed his work-oriented hobby – the cultural, historical and health aspects of wine.

Selected publications

* Norbert Becker und H. Güss: Der Wein, Lebensfreude und Gesundheit. Ein weinfachlicher und ärztlicher Ratgeber für den gesundheitsdienlichen Weingenuss. 7. Auflage, (Wine, joie de vivre and health. Expert and medical advice for the healthy enjoyment of wine, 7th edition) Kehrer Verlag, Freiburg 1995, * Contributions to the viticulture textbooks Vogt/Götz: Weinbau, Ulmer-Verlag, Stuttgart 6th edition, 1977 und 7th edition 1987 and Vogt/Schruft: Weinbau, 8th edition, Ulmer-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000,

References

External links

Staatliches Weinbauinstitut Freiburg (State Viticulture Institute Freiburg)

Julius Kuehn-Institute, Institute of Viticulture, Geilweilerhof

Documentation on viticulture research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Norbert 1937 births 2012 deaths German agronomists

Early life

Career

Selected publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links