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Wisconsin Pesticide Applicator Exam
Review: Turf & Landscape Exam Questions
With Verified Answers
Ch.1 List the general kinds of damage insect pests can cause - answer✔-Chew on seeds, roots,
leaves, stems, & fruits
-Tunnel in roots, stems, & leaves
-Suck plant juices
-Promote gall formation and other malformations
-Inject toxins into plants -Transmit diseases to plants
-Create a nuisance for people
Ch.1 Describe the structural features of insects - answer✔Insects have: body form has 3 regions:
head, thorax, abdomen; 3 pairs of legs attached to thorax; 0, 1, or 2 pairs of wings attached to
thorax; 1 pair of antennae
Ch.1 Explain how to distinguish insects from other arthropods - answer✔Arthropods have:
exoskeleton; body form has 2 regions: head & abdomen; usually 4 pairs of legs attached to head;
no wings; no antennae
Ch.1 Contrast the difference between simple and complete metamorphosis - answer✔-Simple:
"Incomplete Metamorphosis"; 3 stages: egg, nymph, & adult
-Complete: 4 distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, & adult
Ch.1 Explain how temperature and humidity affect insect development - answer✔*Temperature
& humidity preferences vary for each insect.
*Combined effect of both on reproduction & development is more dramatically different than the
effect of either alone.
-Temperature: development is faster with heat & slower with cold temps; insects die at the high
levels of developmental threshold temps and become inactive at low levels
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-Humidity: effects insect diseases; effects moisture levels required for survival
Ch.1 List the advantages and disadvantages of using insecticides - answer✔Advantages:
-Effective against economically damaging pests
-Can combine 1 or 2 insecticides to combat several pests
-They act quickly to control pests before reaching damaging levels
-For new pests, there are many compounds that have been proven effective
-Effective insecticides, suitable formulations, & application equipment are normally available
Disadvantages:
-Often eliminate beneficial insects, allowing target organisms to rebound quickly
-Repeated exposure can lead to resistance in a pest population
-Yearly dependence on applications is an added cost
-Always a potential for drift, residues, and damage
Ch.2 Explain what determines whether a given plant is a weed - answer✔Weeds are unwanted
plants
Ch.2 List the two main goals of weed management - answer✔1. Minimize weed competition
2. Limit the weed's reproduction so that you can still manage the weed population in future years
Ch.2 Describe ways that weeds can pose problems in turf and landscapes (7) - answer✔-Interfere
with management practices
-Produce chemical inhibitors that directly retard the growth of desirable plants (allelopathy)
-Create a poor impression on customers
-Interferes with pesticide applications
-Support insect pests and plant diseases or provide cover for rodents
-Are poisonous, allergenic, or irritating to people or pets
-Dry out or die and become fire hazards
Ch.2 Distinguish grasses from broadleaf plants and woody from herbaceous plants - answer✔-
Grasses (Monocots): most common weeds; have a single seed leaf (cotyledon) when they
germinate; narrow leaves with parallel viens
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-Broadleaves (Dicots): have 2 seed leaves when they germinate; veins form a net-like or
branching pattern; can be broken down into Woody and Herbaceous plants
--> Woody: have thickened outer layer on stems (bark)
--> Herbaceous: lacks bark
Ch. 2 Describe the life cycles and propagation of annual, biennial, and perennial plants -
answer✔-Annuals: live less than 12 months; most seeds germinate the following year, some are
dormant taking several years; prolific seed producers.
--> Summer Annuals: germinate from seed in spring, flower/produce seeds in summer, die in late
summer/early fall.
--> Winter Annuals: germinate from seed in fall, overwinter as low-growing plants,
flower/produce seeds in spring, then die.
-Biennials: live for 2 growing seasons; germinate from seeds in spring or summer and produce a
rosette of leaves, overwinter in rosette stage, flower the following year, produce seed, and die.
-Perennials: live for at least 2 years, sometimes longer; may reproduce by seed or spread
vegetatively (stolons, rhizomes, spreading roots, tubers, bulbs)
Ch.2 Outline what is needed to kill annual, biennial, and perennial weeds and when it is easiest
to do so - answer✔-Annuals: kill the whole shoot by tillage or with herbicides during seeding
stage.
--> Summer Annuals: kill with tillage or herbicides during seeding stage.
--> Winter Annuals: kill with tillage or herbicides during seeding stage.
-Biennials: best controlled with herbicides during rosette stage.
Perennials: controlled by repeatedly tilling or with herbicides that translocates to all plant parts.
Ch.2 Distinguish the difference between preplant, preemergence, and postemergence herbicide
applications - answer✔-Preplant: done before planting.
-Preemergence: usually (not always) done after planting but before plants/weeds emerge.
-Postemergence: done selectively after plants/weeds emerge; timing is important; if the desirable
plant is smaller or larger than the growth stage listed on the label, it may be damaged by the
herbicide.
Ch.2 Explain the effects of soil texture, organic matter, and pH and herbicide persistence on
herbicide activity - answer✔-Fine textured soils or soils with high organic matter often require
higher herbicide rates than soils with coarser texture or low organic matter.
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-Some herbicides prohibit product use on certain soils with a light texture, low organic matter, or
high pH to guard against excessive plant damage or herbicide persistence.
-Excessive leaching on sandy soils with shallow water tables may result in groundwater
contamination.
Ch.2 Describe how and when to make a basal-bark treatment - answer✔-Apply spray to lower 18
inches of stems
-Thoroughly wet stem, crown, and exposed roots
-Can make treatments throughout the year as long as the bark is not wet or when snow or water
prevent spraying to the ground
Ch.2 Describe how and when to make an effective cut-stump treatment - answer✔-
Recommended for plants with thick bark or trunk is greater than 5 inches in diameter.
-Thoroughly wet plant so runoff covers barks, crown buds, exposed roots, root collar, outer
portion of cut surface.
-Should be applied to cut surface before exposed plant tissue dries, within 2-3 hours.
Ch.2 List steps to take when applying herbicides to minimize adverse effects in urban areas -
answer✔-Prevent spray drift, drift of volatile products, runoff.
-Spray when weeds are most susceptible so the minimum amount of herbicide results in
maximum weed control.
-Use less volatile formations
-Apply on days when temps are less than 80 degrees F
-Avoid spraying during midsummer; garden plants and vegetables are more susceptible.
-Avoid applying herbicides on dry, compacted soils
-Keep pesticides off impermeable surfaces
Chapter 2 Know the Law - answer✔State and local laws require landowners to control certain
weeds to prevent their spread and distribution
Ch.3 Define plant disease and what causes it - answer✔Any harmful change in the physiology
and/or structure of a plant caused by some outside agent.
Ch.3 List examples of the major groups of plant pathogens (7) - answer✔-Fungi (blights)
-Oomycetes (downy mildews) -Nematodes (root rot)
-Bacteria (fire blight
