Wilfried Paulsen

Wilfried Paulsen ( born July 31, 1828 Good wet ground at Blomberg Lippe, † February 2nd 1901 same place ) was a German potato growers. With its extensive range it was in the last decades of the 19th century as the market leader for seed potatoes in Germany.

Life and work

Wilfried Paulsen, son of a landowner, acquired through self-study an extensive knowledge of the theory and practice of agriculture. In 1855 he inherited the 82 -acre estate Wet reason of his father and continued the potato breeding begun by this 1846. In 1864 he succeeded in a first partial success: the rearing of seedlings from self-fertilization. The first newly created varieties under the denomination "First of wet ground" was a successful cultivar.

The term " breeding and testing station for new potato varieties ," Paulsen founded in 1864 a business for seed potatoes. In the following decades created new varieties. The cancer -resistant, very early table potato " Paulsen July " was for many decades the best known potato varieties in Germany. Due to the rigorous examination of the varieties and the resulting guaranteed delivery of best quality planting his company gained an international reputation.

About his breeding experiments Paulsen has several awards, including reports in professional journals in the "German Press Agricultural ". For his contributions as a pioneer of the German potato breeding him the German Agricultural Society in 1894 awarded the Grand Silver Award medal. In 1895 he was appointed Ökonomierat.

Paulsen comes from a chess loving family. His brother Louis Paulsen (1833-1891) was a famous chess master. Wilfried Paulsen, chess champion, took part in the last decades of his life only in a few tournaments.