Dear family, friends and colleagues,

With great sadness we have heard of the death of Prof. Dr. Jiri Petr. We
have lost one of the great Czech personalities, a successful agricultural
researcher, recognized teacher of agronomy, former rector of the university
and a good friend. The void left by his death will be very difficult to
fill.

I first met Dr. Petr in Prague in 1986 when he was Professor of Agriculture
at the CZU. As I spoke at an agricultural meeting about new results of plant
research in western Europe, he was looking at the impact of worldwide
research in regard to agricultural production in Czechoslovakia. We straight
away recognised each other as colleagues. His modest manner was coupled with
the soul of a researcher, which led him to try to get to the roots of all
agricultural questions, which had even then led to him being a sought after
contact for experts in both the east and the west. He was one of those
talents who received many invitations to international congresses.

Because of his international experience it was logical that he was appointed
Rector of the Czech Agricultural University after the "velvet revolution".
He used his many contacts to open the university

to the west. He introduced lectures in English, German, French and Spanish,
regularised the network with western European universities contractually,
and introduced new methods, such as including marketing in the curriculum.
He initiated the journal Scientia Agriculturae Bohemica and served as its
managing editor for many years. He also ensured that experts from very
different countries became members of the editorial board.

Jiri Petr was one of the few personalities of agricultural research who had
an overview of 50 years

of research history; he received numerous scientific awards such as an
honorary doctorate, and was active for many years after becoming Emeritus
Professor of Suchdoler University.

Although he had complained of bad health the last time we spoke on the
telephone, the news of his death came as a surprise.

We shall mourn for Prof. Dr. Jiri Petr and remember him with honour.

Prof. Dr. Manfred G. Raupp

Loerrach, Germany

***
Wikipedia MGR

Ji?í Petr, Prof., DrSc. Dr.h.c. (born 1931 in Hradec Králové
[en.wikipedia.org] , died 12 November
2014 in Prague [en.wikipedia.org] ) was a Czech
Agroscientist, University Professor and Emeritus Chancellor (Rector
Emeritus) of the Czech University of Agriculture Prague
[en.wikipedia.org] .




Biography


Petr was born on May 13, 1931 Hradec Králové
[en.wikipedia.org] , Czechoslovakia
[en.wikipedia.org] . First he visited the local
primary school afterwards the secondary school in Broumov
[en.wikipedia.org] and finished with Matura. In 1949
he was sent to the Czech Technical University in Prague
[en.wikipedia.org] ,
Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering to study plant production
with Examination as Dipl.Ing agr. As postgraduate student he studied special
plant production with student exchange in Moscow (RU), Rothamsted (UK) and
Halle (former DDR). After staying in - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Great
Britain, Germany, France, Austria and Spain he published as candidate of
agricultural sciences (CSc) the Doctor Thesis: "Biology of alternative wheat
forms". During his habilitation with the thesis: "Study of the photoperiodic
reaction in cereals and legumes" and the publication "Yield formation in the
cereals" he was appointed as lecturer of plant production at Czech
University of Agriculture Prague
[en.wikipedia.org] . In
1989 Petr was nominated as Professor of Plant Production and additional - in
1990 he was elected as Rector of the Czech University of Agriculture Prague.

During his time as Rector (1990-1994) he embraced the windows of change and
opened the university gates to globalised science and education and prepared
a trustworthy integration of the East and West.


Memberships in Professional Societies


* Member of the Czech Academy of Agriculture, Prague, now honorary
member
* State Committee for Scientific Degree, 12 years
* State Committee for Seed Testing (1990-1995 chairman)
* State Committee for Organic Agriculture
* Member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movement
* The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic - 6 years in the post of the
chairman
* Member of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences
* Member of the European Society for Agronomy until 2002
* Honorary member of the Scientific board of the Czech University of
Agriculture Prague
* Chairman of the editorial board of the scientific journal Scientia
Agriculturae Bohemica SAB (1990-2010)
* Chairman of the editorial board of the Journal for Agricultural
Practice ÚRODA (The Yield)


Field of Research and Publications


Main task agricultural basic and practical research; growth and development
processes during ontogenesis in cereals and pulse crops (legumes); biology
of cereals; the growth regulators in cereals; the formation of the
biological and economy yield in cereals and pulse crops (pea and bean); the
effect of weather on crop production, integrated crop husbandry; alternative
and ecological agriculture, quality of cereals from conventional and
ecological agriculture; quality of cereals for different commercial use.

* Petr, J., ?erný, Hru?ka et al.: Yield Formation in the Main Field
Crops, (in Czech ), Prague 1980, in English published by the publishing
house Elsevier Amsterdam 1988, in German DLG Berlin 1983, in Russian by the
publishing house Moscow Kolos 1984, in Hungarian in the publishing house
Mezögazdasági Kiádó, Budapest 1985
* Petr, J. ed.: Weather and Yield (in Czech), Prague 1987. In English
by Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991, in Russian published by Moscow Agroizdat, 1990
* Petr, J. et al.: Intensive Cereal Husbandry (in Czech) Prague, 1983,
in Russian by Moscow Agroizdat, 1985
* Petr, J., Dlouhý et al.: Ecological Agriculture (in Czech) Prague
1992
* Petr, J.: Millet - 60 pp. In: Moudry et al. Buckwheat and millet (in
Czech), Prague 2006

Additional more than 600 scientific papers and lectures.


Honours and awards


* 1984

* Winner of the Literary Prize of the Literary Fund the Czechoslovak
Academy of Sciences for the books: Tvorba výnosu hlavních polních plodin
(Formation of the Yield of Main Field Crops). This publication was awarded
also in Russian translation in Moscow.
* Other awarded books: Po?así a výnosy (Weather and Yields) and
Intenzivní obilná?ství (Intensive Cereals Management).

* 1981

* "Gold Ear" and Gold Medal of the Academy of Agriculture, Czech
Republic

* 1991

* Medal of the Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno
* Medal of the Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra
* Medal of the South Bohemia University, ?eské Bud?jovice

* 1999

* Doctor Honoris Causa at the Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences,Uppsala

* 2002

* Komenský Medal from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of
the Czech Republic
* Gold Medal of the Czech University of Agriculture Prague

* 2006
* Great sculpture The God of Fertility Ops to the tribute of the First
Centenary of Agricultural University in Prague


References


* Ceska Zemedelska Universita v Praze: Ceremonial Session of the
Scientific Board of the CUA Prague 12 September 2006; ISBN 80-213-1518-0
[en.wikipedia.org] .
* Petr, Jiri [en.wikipedia.org] : Hrsg.
Scientia Agriculturae Bohemica; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague,
2007 CS ISSN 1211-3174.
* Gerber, Theophil: Persönlichkeiten aus Land- und Forstwirtschaft,
Gartenbau und Veterinärmedizin; Biographisches Lexikon, NORA
Verlagsgemeinschaft Dyck & Westerheide, Berlin,
[en.wikipedia.org] ISBN
978-3-936735-67-3
* Raupp, Manfred (Hrsg; tschechisch): Aktualne problemy ochrana
rastlin; Sympozium Stary Smokovec 1986 und 1990.
* Raupp, Manfred (Hrsg); Theoretical and Practical Aspects of the
Elements of "Marketing Mix"; Basel, Moskau, Prag; 1994.
* Raupp, Manfred G.: The Debate concerning the Effects of
Bioinformatics on Food Production, Dedicaded to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jiri Petr
to his birthday, Scientia Agriculturae Bohemica CZU
[en.wikipedia.org] Prague 2001; CS ISSN 1211-3174.