Weed Science

Overview

Weed science is a very dynamic field of research integrating cultural, mechanical, chemical, and biological management techniques to obtain economically and environmentally sustainable weed management systems.

Research interests and expertise of the weed science faculty include: molecular and biochemical mechanisms of herbicide selectivity, evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds, weed ecology and biology, soil-herbicide interactions, evaluation of new herbicides, and weed-crop competition.

Emphasis is on solving weed management problems in Illinois field crops through basic and applied research.

Opportunities for Study

Study in weed science leads to M.S. or Ph.D. degrees. Students take courses in weed science that discuss herbicide selectivity/mode of action and weed ecology/biology, as well as courses in crop sciences, plant physiology, biochemistry, plant anatomy, statistics, and contemporary laboratory techniques. In consultation with thesis advisors, students select their thesis research topics.

There is a strong emphasis on team approaches; consequently, numerous opportunities exist to develop integrated research topics that combine field and laboratory studies. Cooperative programs often lead to opportunity for association with students and faculty in soils, plant physiology, biotechnology, plant breeding, plant pathology, and entomology.

Career Opportunities

Employment prospects for M.S. and Ph.D. recipients are excellent. University opportunities include faculty or staff positions in research, teaching, or extension. Government opportunities include the USDA-ARS, Environmental Protection Agency, and various state agricultural departments. Industry opportunities include herbicide discovery and development research positions, crop consulting, and marketing of agricultural pesticides.

Faculty Researching Weed Science

Specific areas of study are listed below by faculty member. More extensive information on these research programs is readily available from faculty web pages or through personal contact with faculty members.

Name	Specializations
Aaron Hager	extension weed science, integrated weed management for corn and soybean production systems, strategies to minimize the development of herbicide resistant weed biotypes, evaluation of with new herbicides to determine their best utility, research on herbicide resistant/tolerant crops for best utilization, weed identification and diagnosis of herbicide injury symptoms, greenhouse and laboratory research techniques
Martin M. Williams II	crop/weed ecology, integrated weed management systems, vegetable crops
Dean Riechers	weed science physiology; biochemical and molecular basis for herbicide selectivity between crops and weeds, herbicide metabolism and detoxification, mechanism of action of safeners in increasing crop tolerance to herbicides
F. William Simmons	herbicide behavior in soils, environmental and soil effects on herbicide efficacy
Patrick Tranel	molecular weed science, weed biology, competition, genetic diversity, herbicide resistance
Adam S. Davis	crop/weed ecology, integrated weed management systems, field crops

Facilities

The weed science laboratories in Turner Hall are well-equipped with such items as refrigerated centrifuges, spectrophotometer, scintillation counters, amino acid analyzer, biological oxidizer, and liquid and gas chromatograph. Greenhouse and growth chambers are available, including those equipped with laboratory sprayers. Space at the Crop Sciences Research and Education Center, Brownstown Agronomy Research Center, Northwestern Illinois Agronomy Research Center, Northern Illinois Agronomy Research Center is available for field research.