3A TURFGRASS PEST MANAGEMENT
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS
AND SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ What are the five turfgrass IPM steps? Answer: 1. Detect the pest
2. Identify the pest
3. Determine the amount of damage and whether it is below or above
tolerance threshold
4. Select and use a management tactic
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and keep records.
◉ Visual inspection, coffee can technique, white paper test, root
sampling, disclosing solutions, pitfall traps, and pheromone-bait traps
are examples of what? Answer: Monitoring techniques
◉ Why is it better to keep track of degree day accumulations instead of
calendar days? Answer: Both plant growth and pest development depend
on the amount of heat that surrounds an organism.
◉ An organism shouldn't be classified and treated as this until it is
proven to be one. Most species of insects, fungi, nematodes and bacteria
are either harmless or beneficial to turf. Answer: Pest
,◉ Many of these are directly associated with a specific species or
cultivar (variety) of grass. Knowing the cultivar growing in a particular
area may help you diagnose the problem. Answer: Turfgrass disorder
◉ This is defined as the density of pests at which damage to the turf will
occur. Answer: Economic injury level (EIL)
◉ This is the pest density at which action must be taken to prevent the
pest from reaching the economic injury level. Answer: Action threshold
◉ What are:
1. Client's tolerance of pest damage
2. Visibility or use of the turn stand
3. Level of maintenance
4. Health and vigor of the turf stand
5. The degree of risk from the pest injury to the plant host
6. Expected pest reduction by natural controls. Answer: Factors affecting
turfgrass injury level
◉ What are the two types of pest management tactics? Answer:
immediate, short-term suppression and long-term maintenance
, ◉ Some species or cultivars of grasses are resistant to damaging pests
because of these that live inside grass plants. These produce chemicals in
the plant that provide resistance to some pests. Answer: Endophytic
fungi
◉ This control type includes raking, thatch removal and aeration.
Routing maintenance practices such as moving, fertilizing and irrigating
are important. Answer: Cultural control
◉ This control method are tactics that physically separate the pest from
the host plant. Examples include hand-removal, traps, barriers and
repellents. Answer: Mechanical and physical controls
◉ This is an example of a disease that you can readily control by
physically removing it. Answer: Slime mold
◉ This method isn't practical to manage weeds in established turf,
however, it may be the only appropriate weed control operation for
newly plant stands of tender grass. Answer: Hand-removal
◉ A pest stand cannot be both:. Answer: pest-free and benefit from
biological control
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS
AND SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ What are the five turfgrass IPM steps? Answer: 1. Detect the pest
2. Identify the pest
3. Determine the amount of damage and whether it is below or above
tolerance threshold
4. Select and use a management tactic
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and keep records.
◉ Visual inspection, coffee can technique, white paper test, root
sampling, disclosing solutions, pitfall traps, and pheromone-bait traps
are examples of what? Answer: Monitoring techniques
◉ Why is it better to keep track of degree day accumulations instead of
calendar days? Answer: Both plant growth and pest development depend
on the amount of heat that surrounds an organism.
◉ An organism shouldn't be classified and treated as this until it is
proven to be one. Most species of insects, fungi, nematodes and bacteria
are either harmless or beneficial to turf. Answer: Pest
,◉ Many of these are directly associated with a specific species or
cultivar (variety) of grass. Knowing the cultivar growing in a particular
area may help you diagnose the problem. Answer: Turfgrass disorder
◉ This is defined as the density of pests at which damage to the turf will
occur. Answer: Economic injury level (EIL)
◉ This is the pest density at which action must be taken to prevent the
pest from reaching the economic injury level. Answer: Action threshold
◉ What are:
1. Client's tolerance of pest damage
2. Visibility or use of the turn stand
3. Level of maintenance
4. Health and vigor of the turf stand
5. The degree of risk from the pest injury to the plant host
6. Expected pest reduction by natural controls. Answer: Factors affecting
turfgrass injury level
◉ What are the two types of pest management tactics? Answer:
immediate, short-term suppression and long-term maintenance
, ◉ Some species or cultivars of grasses are resistant to damaging pests
because of these that live inside grass plants. These produce chemicals in
the plant that provide resistance to some pests. Answer: Endophytic
fungi
◉ This control type includes raking, thatch removal and aeration.
Routing maintenance practices such as moving, fertilizing and irrigating
are important. Answer: Cultural control
◉ This control method are tactics that physically separate the pest from
the host plant. Examples include hand-removal, traps, barriers and
repellents. Answer: Mechanical and physical controls
◉ This is an example of a disease that you can readily control by
physically removing it. Answer: Slime mold
◉ This method isn't practical to manage weeds in established turf,
however, it may be the only appropriate weed control operation for
newly plant stands of tender grass. Answer: Hand-removal
◉ A pest stand cannot be both:. Answer: pest-free and benefit from
biological control
