The author of the scientific foundations of plant breeding, Erwin Baur (1875 - 1933), was a German physician, botanist, geneticist, and breeding researcher. His breeding successes with cereals and the first breeding of lupins free from bitter substances still have an impact today. At a time when the phylloxera pest and both downy and powdery mildew posed serious problems in European viticulture, Baur recognized that these issues could be resolved through the consistent application of genetic knowledge, such as by crossing fungus-resistant American wild vines with European cultivated vines. As early as 1922, Baur conducted initial crosses between different berry fruit species. He was able to breed what he called the Jochelberry (currant x gooseberry) from the mildew-resistant wild currant (Ribes succirubrum) and mildew-susceptible gooseberry varieties.