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Tennessee (TN) Category 3 (Ornamental and Turf)
Commercial Pesticide Applicator Exam | Latest Verified
Questions and Detailed Answers
OVERVIEW DESCRIPTION:
This comprehensive set of multiple choice questions is designed for the Tennessee
Category 3 (Ornamental and Turf) Commercial Pesticide Applicator Exam, administered by
the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The exam assesses a candidate’s field-level
knowledge of pest identification and biology, integrated pest management (IPM) strategies,
pesticide formulations and label interpretation, application equipment and calibration,
phytotoxicity and environmental hazards, and safety practices involving personal
protective equipment (PPE) as they specifically apply to the care of ornamental plants,
lawns, golf courses, and athletic turf.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following is a warm-season turfgrass commonly managed on Tennessee
athletic fields and golf fairways?
A) Kentucky bluegrass
B) Perennial ryegrass
C) Bermudagrass
D) Tall fescue
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: Bermudagrass is a warm-season grass that thrives in Tennessee
summers, unlike Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass which are cool-season. Tall
fescue is a cool-season turf with some heat tolerance but is not classified as warm-
season.
QUESTION 2
The pupal stage is part of complete metamorphosis. Which turf pest does NOT undergo
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complete metamorphosis?
A) Japanese beetle
B) Sod webworm
C) Chinch bug
D) Black cutworm
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: Chinch bugs have gradual (incomplete) metamorphosis with egg,
nymph, and adult stages, lacking a true pupa. Japanese beetles, sod webworms, and
cutworms are beetles and moths that undergo complete metamorphosis.
QUESTION 3
A fine, white, powdery growth on the upper leaf surface of rose and crape myrtle leaves
is most likely:
A) Downy mildew
B) Powdery mildew
C) Botrytis blight
D) Black spot
CORRECT ANSWER: B
EXPERT RATIONALE: Powdery mildew produces a characteristic white, talc-like coating
primarily on upper leaf surfaces. Downy mildew appears on lower surfaces with yellow
spots on top, and black spot creates dark, circular lesions.
QUESTION 4
When using the 1/128-acre calibration method, the number of ounces collected from
one nozzle in the time it takes to travel the course equals:
A) Gallons per minute
B) Gallons per 1000 sq ft
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C) Gallons per acre
D) Pints per acre
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: In the 1/128-acre method, the ounces collected per nozzle equal
gallons per acre (GPA) because 1 ounce equals 1/128 of a gallon on that fractional acre.
It’s a quick field calibration conversion.
QUESTION 5
Which signal word on a pesticide label indicates the product has the highest acute
dermal and inhalation toxicity?
A) CAUTION
B) WARNING
C) DANGER – POISON
D) No signal word
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: DANGER – POISON (often with skull and crossbones) denotes
Category I toxicity, the most acutely hazardous. WARNING indicates moderate toxicity,
and CAUTION indicates low toxicity.
QUESTION 6
Large, irregular brown patches that develop in hot, humid weather on tall fescue lawns,
often with a dark smoky ring at the advancing edge, are typical of:
A) Dollar spot
B) Brown patch (Rhizoctonia blight)
C) Pythium blight
D) Red thread
CORRECT ANSWER: B
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EXPERT RATIONALE: Brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani) causes large blighted areas with a
grayish “smoke ring” margin in warm, humid conditions. Dollar spot creates smaller,
bleached spots, and Pythium blight appears greasy and water-soaked.
QUESTION 7
A homeowner notices fine webbing and yellow stippling on the foliage of arborvitae.
Which pest is most likely responsible?
A) Aphids
B) Spider mites
C) Lace bugs
D) Whiteflies
CORRECT ANSWER: B
EXPERT RATIONALE: Spider mites produce fine silk webbing and cause stippling from
cell-piercing feeding. Lace bugs leave dark fecal spots without webbing; aphids and
whiteflies excrete honeydew but do not build webbing.
QUESTION 8
Which Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practice is an example of a cultural control for
managing dollar spot in creeping bentgrass putting greens?
A) Applying a contact fungicide at first sign
B) Releasing predatory mites
C) Removing dew by dragging a hose or pole in the morning
D) Rotating systemic fungicides
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: Dew removal reduces leaf wetness duration, a cultural tactic that
suppresses dollar spot development. Fungicide applications are chemical controls;
releasing predators is biological control.
Tennessee (TN) Category 3 (Ornamental and Turf)
Commercial Pesticide Applicator Exam | Latest Verified
Questions and Detailed Answers
OVERVIEW DESCRIPTION:
This comprehensive set of multiple choice questions is designed for the Tennessee
Category 3 (Ornamental and Turf) Commercial Pesticide Applicator Exam, administered by
the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The exam assesses a candidate’s field-level
knowledge of pest identification and biology, integrated pest management (IPM) strategies,
pesticide formulations and label interpretation, application equipment and calibration,
phytotoxicity and environmental hazards, and safety practices involving personal
protective equipment (PPE) as they specifically apply to the care of ornamental plants,
lawns, golf courses, and athletic turf.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following is a warm-season turfgrass commonly managed on Tennessee
athletic fields and golf fairways?
A) Kentucky bluegrass
B) Perennial ryegrass
C) Bermudagrass
D) Tall fescue
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: Bermudagrass is a warm-season grass that thrives in Tennessee
summers, unlike Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass which are cool-season. Tall
fescue is a cool-season turf with some heat tolerance but is not classified as warm-
season.
QUESTION 2
The pupal stage is part of complete metamorphosis. Which turf pest does NOT undergo
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complete metamorphosis?
A) Japanese beetle
B) Sod webworm
C) Chinch bug
D) Black cutworm
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: Chinch bugs have gradual (incomplete) metamorphosis with egg,
nymph, and adult stages, lacking a true pupa. Japanese beetles, sod webworms, and
cutworms are beetles and moths that undergo complete metamorphosis.
QUESTION 3
A fine, white, powdery growth on the upper leaf surface of rose and crape myrtle leaves
is most likely:
A) Downy mildew
B) Powdery mildew
C) Botrytis blight
D) Black spot
CORRECT ANSWER: B
EXPERT RATIONALE: Powdery mildew produces a characteristic white, talc-like coating
primarily on upper leaf surfaces. Downy mildew appears on lower surfaces with yellow
spots on top, and black spot creates dark, circular lesions.
QUESTION 4
When using the 1/128-acre calibration method, the number of ounces collected from
one nozzle in the time it takes to travel the course equals:
A) Gallons per minute
B) Gallons per 1000 sq ft
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C) Gallons per acre
D) Pints per acre
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: In the 1/128-acre method, the ounces collected per nozzle equal
gallons per acre (GPA) because 1 ounce equals 1/128 of a gallon on that fractional acre.
It’s a quick field calibration conversion.
QUESTION 5
Which signal word on a pesticide label indicates the product has the highest acute
dermal and inhalation toxicity?
A) CAUTION
B) WARNING
C) DANGER – POISON
D) No signal word
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: DANGER – POISON (often with skull and crossbones) denotes
Category I toxicity, the most acutely hazardous. WARNING indicates moderate toxicity,
and CAUTION indicates low toxicity.
QUESTION 6
Large, irregular brown patches that develop in hot, humid weather on tall fescue lawns,
often with a dark smoky ring at the advancing edge, are typical of:
A) Dollar spot
B) Brown patch (Rhizoctonia blight)
C) Pythium blight
D) Red thread
CORRECT ANSWER: B
, 4|Page
EXPERT RATIONALE: Brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani) causes large blighted areas with a
grayish “smoke ring” margin in warm, humid conditions. Dollar spot creates smaller,
bleached spots, and Pythium blight appears greasy and water-soaked.
QUESTION 7
A homeowner notices fine webbing and yellow stippling on the foliage of arborvitae.
Which pest is most likely responsible?
A) Aphids
B) Spider mites
C) Lace bugs
D) Whiteflies
CORRECT ANSWER: B
EXPERT RATIONALE: Spider mites produce fine silk webbing and cause stippling from
cell-piercing feeding. Lace bugs leave dark fecal spots without webbing; aphids and
whiteflies excrete honeydew but do not build webbing.
QUESTION 8
Which Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practice is an example of a cultural control for
managing dollar spot in creeping bentgrass putting greens?
A) Applying a contact fungicide at first sign
B) Releasing predatory mites
C) Removing dew by dragging a hose or pole in the morning
D) Rotating systemic fungicides
CORRECT ANSWER: C
EXPERT RATIONALE: Dew removal reduces leaf wetness duration, a cultural tactic that
suppresses dollar spot development. Fungicide applications are chemical controls;
releasing predators is biological control.
