Speaker

Aaron Hager

Dr. Aaron Hager is a professor of weed science in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois. He has more than 30 years of weed science experience and assists agronomic crop producers manage weeds by implementing sustainable practices. The focus of Dr. Hager’s research program is to develop innovative weed management approaches with an emphasis on addressing contemporary weed species infesting corn and soybean in Illinois. His ultimate research goal is to establish a robust applied research program, supplemented with basic research fostered through novel collaborations with ecologists and molecular biology scientists, to provide economical and sustainable solutions to the fundamental weed management challenges plaguing Illinois producers. He has been at the forefront in discovery and identification of novel instances of herbicide resistance in Illinois waterhemp. Such research included the documentation of the first cases (not only in waterhemp, but in any U.S. weed population) of multiple resistance to herbicides spanning two, three, and four site-of-action groups, the world’s first discovery of resistance to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides, and the first identification of resistance to Group 15 herbicides in a broadleaf species. Dr. Hager’s knowledge of practical weed management has been shared with weed management practitioners throughout the United States and across four continents.