Iowa Certified Pesticide Applicator Core Manual Questions With Correct Answers

Commercial applicator - Answer person who uses pesticide on any property of another person for payment Public Applicator - Answer persons who use pesticide as state, county, municipal, or government employees Non-commercial applicators - Answer persons who apply restricted use pesticides on land owned, rented, or leased by applicator Private applicators - Answer persons who apply pesticides for the production of an agricultural commodity on property owned by themselves or employers Certified handlers - Answer persons employed by a licensed commercial applicator who handle pesticides under supervision of a qualified applicator Certification and recertification requirements for Iowa pesticide applicators - Answer Must be employed by company that is licensed in pest control 21 day grace period from day of initial employment to meet certification requirements Recertification - 3 year qualification cycle. Test every third year or attending approved continuing instruction courses (CIC) every year for EACH category you are certified. CICs offered on calendar year basis. CICs cannot be made up if you forget and you cannot attend 2 in one year to count for future years what agency regulates pesticide use in the US - Answer Environmental protection agency Summarize pesticide registration and re-registration - Answer FIFRA requires EPA to regulate sale and use of pesticides through registration and labeling. Registration decisions based on human and environmental health impact. Inconsistent use with label instructions is illegal Re-registration EPA constantly reviews older pesticides to compare with new findings to conclude if they are still safe Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA - Answer Civil penalties as much as $6500 Criminal penalties up to $25000, one year in prison, or both. FIFRA - Answer Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Passed in 1947. Regulates production, transportation, sale, use, and disposal of all pesticides. FFDCA - Answer Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Residues can remain on food, measured in ppm, ppb, or ppt EPA sets allowable residue levels (tolerances) under FFDCA. Reasonable certainty of no harm. FQPA - Answer Amended both FIFRA and FFDCA setting tougher standard for pesticides used on food. Established single health based standard to be used when assessing risks of pesticide in food. Dietary exposure and non-occupational exposure. residue - Answer The amount of pesticide remaining in or on raw farm products or foods. Tolerance - Answer maximum amount of pesticide that may legally remain in or on raw farm product intended for consumption Describe who is protected by the WPS - Answer Worker Protection Standard Aimed at reducing risk of poisonings, injuries, and exposure to ag workers and handlers. Protects workers on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses from occupational exposure to pesticides. Explain how ESA relates to pesticides - Answer Endangered Species Act Program for the conservation of endangered plants and animals and their habitats. Pesticides affect endangered and threatened species through runoff and drift. 12 species in Iowa protected - 7 animal, 5 plant Summarize RCRA - Answer Resource Conservation and Recovery Act EPA controls hazardous waste from "cradle to grave." Generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal. List the requirements of pesticide applicator records - Answer Commercial, public, and noncommercial need records of applied pesticides for 3 years after date of application Pesticide records must include - Answer Name and certification number of the licensee Name and address of the landowner or customer Address of the place of application of a restricted use pesticide Date of pesticide application Trade name of pesticide product used Quantity of pesticide product used and the concentration or rate of application Temperature and direction and velocity of the wind at the time Use of restricted pesticides Time pesticide application begins and ends Describe the Sensitive Crop Directory - Answer Registry that identifies locations of pesticide-sensitive crops and apiaries throughout Iowa. Listed are those most susceptible to drift damage. Examples - vineyards, orchards, organic crops, fruits and vegetable crops Describe the Iowa Bee Rule - Answer Cooperation between beekeepers and applicators to prevent killing of bees. Apiary owners register their location with state. Between 8 am and 6 pm an applicator shall NOT apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees or blooming crops when within 1 mile of registered apiary. List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applicators - Answer Applicators within urban areas must post signs at start of application and display for at least 24 hours. Prenotification - any person asked to be notified must be provided notification in writing, in person, or by phone stating the time of application at least 1 day before application. Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules - Answer Atrazine is a restricted use pesticide due to ground and surface water concerns. Use limitations Limited to 2.5 lbs or less of active ingredient per acre per calendar year 23 counties with 1.5 lbs or less restriction Not mixed or loaded within 100 ft of sinkhole, well, lake, etc. Not applied within 50 ft Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides - Answer Non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must be located within a watertight secondary containment facility used to prevent runoff. If you store for 30 days and mix more than 300 gallons or pounds of product, facility is considered a permanent pesticide storage/mixing site. Must be paved, sloped, and elevated above surrounding areas. Secondary contaminants must be maintained. Washing must be performed at containment site and not run through storm sewers. Describe the penalties for violations of the Pesticide Act of Iowa - Answer Penalties are maximum civil penalty of $500 per violation Describe what a pest is - Answer Pest - any living species whose activities cause economic losses to your possessions, directly threaten your health, or are annoying. Pests may also destroy structures, reduce the beauty and recreational value of the landscape, and transmit or cause disease. Define integrated pest management and list the 5 major components of IPM - Answer 1. Identify the pest and understand its biology 2. Set up a monitoring program 3.Know the available control strategies 4.Implement IPM program 5. Record and evaluate results Identify the pest and understand its biology - Answer Be certain what is causing issue - abiotic or biotic Pest host is important for making positive ID Know the life cycles - could have different physical form Look for their presence - color, nests, type of damage, etc Once IDed, determine if action is necessary Set up a monitoring program - Answer Also called scouting Measuring pest population and/or damage Know the pest level that triggers control Know the available control strategies - Answer Not all pests require human intervention or pesticides Many nonchemical methods. Pest management methods used by humans are called applied controls Natural controls include weather, and natural enemies Biological control - using natural enemies to control pests. Predators, parasitoids, pathogens Mechanical control - uses of machines, devices, and other physical methods. Ex. traps, screens, fences, plows, etc Cultural control - designed to alter the environment, condition of the host plant, or behavior of the pest. Sanitation is one example - mowing, irrigation, crop rotation, etc. Physical/environmental modification - mostly enclosed areas. Relative humidity, temp, etc Host resistance or genetic control - some plants/animals bred to resist some pests. Regulatory controls - quarantine or eradication programs to stop the entry of spread of pests Chemical controls - pesticides that are synthesized or naturally derived. Implement IPM program - Answer Combine several compatible methods and target the pest at the most susceptible stage for control. Record and evaluate results - Answer Results not always apparent after short period of time. Used to review effectiveness of strategy. Economic threshold - Answer level that the pest population density at which control measures are needed to prevent the pest from reaching the economic injury level. Economic injury level - Answer the pest population density that causes losses equal to the cost of control measures. Aesthetic threshold - Answer damage in the plants appearance may reduce commodity's value Action threshold - Answer pest level at which some type of pest management action should be taken. Predetermined pest level that is unacceptable. In a situation in which the pest is not tolerated, the action threshold is zero. Control tactics used by an IPM strategy - Answer biological, mechanical, cultural, physical, genetic, regulatory, chemical Discuss how pesticides can come in contact and move within target pests - Answer Systemic pesticides - once absorbed through the leaves or roots, translocated within the treated plant. Contact pesticide - must direct touch the pest or a site the pest frequently visits. Recognized the steps to take to minimize the development of pesticide resistance - Answer Develops when the same mode of action are used intensely and repeatedly. Resistance may develop to only a single pesticide, however it is MORE common for pests to become resistant to all chemically related pesticides in a class of compounds. Using different strategies can help prevent resistance. Example - use different modes of action. Changing use patterns is another step. pesticide resistance - Answer ability of a pest to tolerate a pesticide that once controlled it. pesticide - Answer any material that is used to kill, attract, repel, or regulate or interrupt the growth and mating of pests, or to regulate plant growth. Selective pesticide - Answer control only certain species of pest or affect only a certain stage of pest development.