Feature

Welcome Dr. Aaron Tucker – Auburn’s new Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Management

Auburn University has officially hired Dr. Aaron Tucker to be their new Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Management, starting in August of this year. Dr. Tucker, a Mississippi native and graduate of the Mississippi State University turfgrass program, has a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Virginia Tech.

Aaron attended high school in Carthage, Mississippi at Leake Central. There, Aaron was heavily involved in the Agricultural program. After graduating, he earned his Associate of science degree at East Central Community College, where he played golf.

“In high school, I learned to play golf. But my father is an ag teacher, and I’ve always grown up around agricultural related things. We showed cows, and my brother wound up becoming a vet. I’m curious, so I like science. I didn’t want to teach golf for a living so I looked for an avenue that would encompass both golf and agriculture, and turfgrass is right down that alley. I chose to go into turfgrass at MSU and I’ve been fortunate to be provided great opportunities along my journey.”

Several factors played into Aaron’s decision to continue his education at Mississippi State after earning his Bachelors’ degree there. “Mississippi State is one of those places that has a rich tradition in our family, but also oftentimes you tell folks, ‘When it comes to your career path, choose what you love, and let the rest fall into place.’” Aaron earned his Bachelor of Science in Agronomy in the field of golf and sports turf management, and then began work on his Master’s degree, honing his area of interest in plant pathology.

As he was finishing his undergrad degree, Aaron was offered the chance to do research with Dr. Christian Baldwin (then an MSU professor) focusing on plant physiology. This work planted the seed of pursuing further study in turf pathology.

“Turf pathology made sense naturally,” Aaron says. “I reached out to Dr. Maria Peterson, since there are a lot of plant interactions that happen in turf pathology between plants and fungi, etc. She already had an idea in mind for research, so we just went with it.”

Upon finishing his Masters’ degree at MSU, Aaron was invited to pursue his Ph.D. with plant pathologist Dr. David McCall at Virginia Tech. After meeting at an ASA conference years earlier, the two had stayed in touch. “Dave is good at getting funding for his lab group.

The lab was supported by a single graduate student at the time I met Dave. Now there are five. We’ve got plenty of bodies that do field research, trials, and help with grants.” Another element of working in Dr. McCall’s lab that interested Aaron was extension work. He’d previously not been exposed to that aspect, and that also influenced the choice to pursue his Ph.D. through Virginia Tech.

One area of research that Dr. Tucker focused on at Virginia Tech was understanding lance nematodes and their effect on creeping bentgrass greens. “There’s been limited options of nematode control in turfgrass since the Environmental Protection Agency’s restrictions on Nemacur (active ingredient fenamiphos). Since that product was restricted, the turfgrass industry has been looking for new solutions. The products available to replace Nemacur were used in abundance by the industry with limitations on product efficacy for controlling lance nematodes. These limitations have contributed to a gradual increase in lance population densities over time, which in turn created a need for understanding more about these nematodes.”

Dr. Tucker plans to continue his nematode and pathology research at Auburn, hoping to find solutions to help golf course superintendents in the state. Warm season putting greens typically have their fair share of disease issues, and plant parasitic nematodes can cause extensive damage to these putting greens that are abundant within the state.

Looking forward to beginning his work at Auburn this August, Dr. Tucker says, “I believe that being able to educate is paramount, and if you do it the right way, then you don’t have to do it twice.” Teaching turfgrass to the next generation of turfgrass professionals is an opportunity Aaron has long been waiting for. Being able to teach a subject he loves at Auburn is important, but more meaningful is that he will be able to interact with students as his father has done in his teaching career. “It feels as though I have come full circle with my heritage,” he notes.

Aaron and his wife, Emilee, have two children, Elliott, born in 2020 and Hazel, born in 2024. Aaron says in his free time, he enjoys spending time with Emilee, Elliott and Hazel and occasionally finding time to golf, or even fish, with his father.

The Alabama Turfgrass Association wishes Dr. Aaron Tucker every success as he pursues his career at Auburn. Welcome!