Bernard Blum
Bernard J. Blum (1 September 1938 in Besançon – 13 August 2014 in Paris) was a French agricultural scientist, industry manager and founding president of the International Biocontrol Manufacturers' Association (IBMA). He campaigned for sustainable development through biological and integrated plant protection with the use of decision-making systems.[1][2]
Life and work
Bernard Blum first went to school in Besançon and later at the
In January 1972 he began work at
In 2008 he initiated the annual ABIM Konferenz which within the frame of the IBMA served to promote new biological products and application technologies.
After leaving Novartis he founded, in 2005, his own firm, AGROMETRIX – Integrated Crop Management. He promoted a return to the consideration of Bio-diversity and an integrated plant protection policy grounded on an analytical system and preventative measures. Inter alia he began, together with the makers of meteorological monitoring stations, the development of crop-specific computer programmes which would give an early warning of risk situations – attack by insects or disease – to allow more targeted intervention using less, and also alternative, agents.
In 2008 he became a member of the Académie d'Agriculture de France with responsibility for the working group Principe de précaution und Méthodes biointensives de protection des plantes.[3]
Within Europe he was engaged with the possibility of introducing the Sterile-Insekten-Technik (SIT) within a European and French project (Region Biocontrol South-West).
He died of a heart attack in 2014.[4]
Legacy
The IBMA awards the annual Bernard Blum Preis for the best innovation in the field of biological plant protection.[5]
References
- ^ Bernard Blum on the Webpage of IBMA
- ^ L'Académie du Biocontrôle concerning Bernard Blum
- ^ Academie Agriculture Sections et comités
- ^ "Bernard Blum on Agronomie Asso". Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
- ^ Bernard Blum Award on the Webpage of IBMA Archived 2016-07-28 at the Wayback Machine