Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Abutalibov Muzaffar Heydar oglu was born on December 14, 1908 in Ordubad city. He studied at the A. Shaig Technical School in Baku (1922-1926),graduated from the Agricultural Faculty of the Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute (1930).

M.Abutalibov was a PhD in 1938, defended his doctoral dissertation in 1944.He became a professor (1950), the corresponding member of the Azerbaijan AS (1959) and an active member of the Academy of Sciences (1968).

M.Abutalibov worked as a laboratory assistant, assistant, associate professor at the Plant Physiology Department of Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute (1931-1936). He was a senior research specialist and Deputy Director of the Institute of Botany of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences (1936-1948),Head of the Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry (1940-1947) and Director of the Institute (1947-1950), Head of the Department of Plant Physiology of the Azerbaijan State University,Head of Plant Physiology Laboratory of Azerbaijan SR Agricultural Institute (1949-1059).From 1960 to 1962 he was the director of the Azerbaijan AS Genetics and Selection Institute, the Director of the Botany Institute again (1962-1978) and Head of the Plant Physiology Department at the Botanical Institute from 1978 until the end of his life.

The main scientific activity of M.Abutalibov is devoted to the study of mineral nutrition of plants, the incorporation of chemical elements into plant organism, movement, distribution and recycling. He paid particular attention to  study the role of macro and micro elements in increasing productivity of agricultural crops - cotton, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, clover and others.He studied the role of micro elements such as calcium, iron, copper, manganese, boron, zinc  etc.in the growth of plant life, the process of photosynthesis, the role of carbohydrate and amino acids in the exchange,and put forward new scientific ideas. He laid the foundations for conducting research with radioactive isotopes in Azerbaijan and set a labaratory that can perform high level work. For the first time he found that,unlike other elelments calcium always moves from the buttom to the younger organs of the plant. He has scientifically substantiated the time and depth of phosphorus fertilizer with radioactive phosphorus experiments. He is the author of more than 300 scientific articles,5 monographs and the first two-volume "Plant Physiology" textbook in Azerbaijani,"Nutrition of plants by mineral substances" (1962).

In addition to scientific research work, M.Abutalibov has also played an important role in the training of highly qualified biologists in Azerbaijan. 55 PhDs and Doctor of Sciences were prepared under his leadership.

He was a member of Council for the USSR AS " Plant Physiology and Biochemistry" and "Photosynthesis Problems", a member of the Editorial Board of the Soviet Encyclopedia of Azerbaijan,a member of the Coordination Council for the USSR "Physiology and Biochemistry" and "Photosynthesis Problems", the Chairman of the Azerbaijan Branch of the USSR Botanical Society.

M.Abutalibov was awarded with medals "For self-sacrificing Labor", "For the Protection of the Caucasus" and "For self- sacrificing  labor" in World War II 1941-1945.

Academician Muzaffar Abutalibov died on November 9, 1984.