Markus Weinmann

Last updated

Markus Weinmann (born 31 July 1974, in Worms) is an agricultural scientist specialising in the area of Plant Physiology at the University of Hohenheim, and ranks as one of the pioneers of Bioeffector-Research aimed at improving plant growth, vitality and disease resistance. He is also coordinator of field experiments in the EU-Biofector-Project. [1]

Contents

Life and work

Weinmann was born into a family of vintners as son of Leonard and Maria-Elisabeth Weinmann and attended primary school in Worms-Hernsheim and then the Rudi-Stephan-Gymnasium in Worms, passing his exams in 1994. After military service (1994-1995) he studied agriculture at Hohenheim University with traineeships in the State School of Agriculture, Viticulture and Horticulture in Oppenheim and the State School of Grapevine Breeding in Alzey.

His Diploma Thesis in the area of phytomedicine at the State Education and Research Centre (SLFA) in Neustadt an der Weinstraße in 1999 was written on the theme Use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial preparations to counter vine fatigue in viticulture nurseries under controlled and open field conditions.

In 2003 he was accepted as a doctoral student at the Faculty of Agricultural Science at Hohenheim University and he obtained his Ph. D. at the Institute of Plant Nutrition, later Institute of Crop Science, Department of Nutrition Physiology, at Hohenheim University with Volker Roemheld and Guenter Neumann as supervisors. Promotion to Dr. sc. agr followed in May 2016 in Hohenheim.

Professional activities

Publications (selection)

Conference contributions

Related Research Articles

Rhizobacteria

Rhizobacteria are root-associated bacteria that form symbiotic relationships with many plants. The name comes from the Greek rhiza, meaning root. Though parasitic varieties of rhizobacteria exist, the term usually refers to bacteria that form a relationship beneficial for both parties (mutualism). They are an important group of microorganisms used in biofertilizer. Biofertilization accounts for about 65% of the nitrogen supply to crops worldwide. Rhizobacteria are often referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, or PGPRs. The term PGPRs was first used by Joseph W. Kloepper in the late 1970s and has become commonly used in scientific literature. PGPRs have different relationships with different species of host plants. The two major classes of relationships are rhizospheric and endophytic. Rhizospheric relationships consist of the PGPRs that colonize the surface of the root, or superficial intercellular spaces of the host plant, often forming root nodules. The dominant species found in the rhizosphere is a microbe from the genus Azospirillum. Endophytic relationships involve the PGPRs residing and growing within the host plant in the apoplastic space.

University of Hohenheim

The University of Hohenheim is a campus university located in the south of Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1818, it is Stuttgart's oldest university. Its primary areas of specialisation had traditionally been agricultural and natural sciences. Today, however, the majority of its students are enrolled in one of the many study programs offered by the faculty of business, economics and social sciences. The faculty has regularly been ranked among the best in the country, making the University of Hohenheim one of Germany's top-tier universities in these fields. The university maintains academic alliances with a number of partner universities and is involved in numerous joint research projects.

Microbial inoculants also known as soil inoculants or bioinoculants are agricultural amendments that use beneficial rhizosphericic or endophytic microbes to promote plant health. Many of the microbes involved form symbiotic relationships with the target crops where both parties benefit (mutualism). While microbial inoculants are applied to improve plant nutrition, they can also be used to promote plant growth by stimulating plant hormone production.

Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Timișoara is a university in Timișoara, Romania which specializes in life sciences and veterinary medicine. It was named in honor of King Michael I of Romania.

Biofertilizer

A biofertilizer is a substance which contains living micro-organisms which, when applied to seeds, plant surfaces, or soil, colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant. Biofertilizers add nutrients through the natural processes of nitrogen fixation, solubilizing phosphorus, and stimulating plant growth through the synthesis of growth-promoting substances. The microorganisms in biofertilizers restore the soil's natural nutrient cycle and build soil organic matter. Through the use of biofertilizers, healthy plants can be grown, while enhancing the sustainability and the health of the soil. Biofertilizers can be expected to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, but they are not yet able to replace their use. Since they play several roles, a preferred scientific term for such beneficial bacteria is "plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria" (PGPR).

Nitrogen nutrition in the arbuscular mycorrhizal system refers to...

A bioeffector is a viable microorganism or active natural compound which directly or indirectly affects plant performance (biofertilizer), and thus has the potential to reduce fertilizer and pesticide use in crop production.

Volker Roemheld was a German agricultural scientist, plant physiologist and soil biologist at Hohenheim University.

Manfred Gustav Raupp is a German agricultural scientist and economist. He is honorary professor of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague active in the Department of Agricultural Research and International Management. He is a member of the management team of the EU research project Biofector as a specialist in agricultural- and biological-informatics, responsible for training and information.

Indian Institute of Soil Science

The Indian Institute of Soil Science is an autonomous institute for higher learning, established under the umbrella of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India for advanced research in the field of soil sciences.

Guenter Neumann German agronomist

Guenter Neumann is an agricultural scientist at the University of Hohenheim. He is a plant physiologist specialising in rhizosphere research and scientific coordinator of the EU Research Project Biofector

Uwe Ludewig is a German agricultural scientist specialising in plant physiology. He is director of the Institute for Crop Science at the University of Hohenheim.

The Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) in Basel is an annual conference of manufacturers of biological plant protection products worldwide. Every year since 2005, 700 – 800 delegates from 300 – 400 firms take part in this English-speaking meeting.

Enno Bahrs is an agricultural scientist and economist, and tax expert, at the University of Hohenheim and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources of the German Federal Republic.

Kornelia Smalla is a chemist and biotechnologist at the Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI) in Braunschweig and a university lecturer in microbiology at the Technical University of Braunschweig.

Ellen Kandeler is a German biologist and agricultural scientist specialising in soil biology at University of Hohenheim. She also heads the Soil Biology area in the EU Biofector project.

Alessandro Piccolo is an Italian chemist and agricultural scientist, with particular expertise in soil science. He is a professor at the University of Naples Federico II and has been honoured by the prize for chemistry in 1999 by the Humboldt Foundation. He received the Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Life Sciences of Prague, Czech Republic in 2009. He is chief editor of the Springer journal Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture. He has been coordinator of two research EU projects and a member of numerous other EU research projects such as the project Biofector with the University of Hohenheim. He has published more than 300 peer reviewed scientific papers and he is ranked among the top Italian scientists.

Borbala Biro married as Borbala Biro Pacsutan is a Hungarian biologist and agricultural scientist with a doctorate and habilitation from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and a university lecturer in biological sciences at the Szent-István-University in Gödöllö. In the framework of numerous research programmes on scientific farming she is involved in the Biofector Projekt with the University of Hohenheim.

Dr. Mohamed Hijri is a biologist who studies arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). He is a professor of biology and research at the Institut de recherche en biologie végétale at the University of Montreal.

GreenErde or Balkan Green Deal BW is a project within the framework of the Danube Strategy of the European Union under the leadership of the University of Hohenheim and the Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Timișoara, particularly from the point Education and Research in the context of the digital and ecological transformation of agriculture in the Banat Region and Baden-Württemberg. The project will include funded by the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg.

References