For years Klaus Gersbach has been committed to the Swiss fruit cultivation. (lid/zvg)
Klaus Gersbach, an experienced and internationally well-known scientist, and a specialist lecturer and consultant, has given important impetus to the Swiss fruit cultivation. Furthermore, Gersbach is the co-founder of Fructus, the association for the promotion of old fruit varieties. He was the president of this association from 1999 to 2015. For 34 years, he led the regional competence center for fruit at the Strickhof farm in Lindau.
Klaus Gersbach was born as a son of a cherry farmer, with a tree nursery, in Fricktal, and he graduated from the University of Applied Sciences, in Wädenswil. He continued his education in the USA and worked for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Wädenswil.
Gersbach has an excellent international network, and with his experience he speaks the language of the farmers as well as the language of the scientists. He is passionate about the preservation of historical fruit varieties, and has attracted many young people for fruit farming apprenticeships. Gersbach will use the 15,000 Swiss francs for a fruit cultivation project. He is currently looking for old varieties of quince trees in Switzerland.
Each year, the Lotte and Willi Günthart-Maag Foundation award the Dr. Rudolf Maag Prize to persons who have made a special contribution to the care of plants and the promotion of horticulture.