Virginia Commercial Pesticide
Applicators CORE exam
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests - ANSKey
pests are nearly always present and require regular control. occasional pests are migratory or
cyclical and require intermittent control. secondary pests require control only under certain
conditions, such as the elimination of a key pest or the absence of a natural host.
what should you do first if you see damage to a plant, animal, or valuable product/ - ANSidentify
the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? - ANSmake sure
the pest is actually responsible for the damage. then accurately identify the pest
how can pest identification help you develop a good pest control strategy? - ANSit allows you to
determine basic information about the pest, including its life-cycle and when it is most
susceptible to control measures.
name the 5 basic pest groups - ANSweeds, parasites and diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and
vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - ANSweeds are often hardy,
aggressive, and tolerant of harsh conditions. many produce large numbers of seeds which can
spread over a wide area and remain dormant for a long time.
how can you tell a monocot from a dicot? - ANSmonocots (sedges and grasses) have one
cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of 3 and fibrous roots. Dicots have 2
cotyledons, broad leaves with netted veination, and flower parts in multiples of 4 and 5 and
usually have taproots.
name the pathogens that cause most plant and animal diseases - ANSfungi, bacteria,
mycoplasma, and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - ANSstunting, yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and
mosaic patterns
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - ANSby attacking the roots, stems and leaves.
nematode root feeding interferes with a plants ability to take up water and nutrients. infected
plants wilt and seem to be suffering from a lack of water or nutrients.
, how do mollusks harm plants? - ANSby feeding on foliage and fruit. mollusks reduce the value
of commercial produce if they feed on harvested plants and fruit.
what are arthropods? how do they differ from vertebrates? - ANSarthropods are animals with
segmented bodies and jointed appendages. Arthropods have an external skeleton and may
have specialized appendages such as sucking tubes, chewing mouth parts, antennae, and
pincers. they have no backbones like vertebrates
what is the difference between gradual and complete metamorphosis? why is it important to
know the life cycle stage of an insect? - ANSgradual metamorphosis includes 3 stages: egg,
nymph and adult. there is no pupa stage. complete metamorphosis includes 4 stages: egg,
larva, pupa, and adult. insects that develop via complete metamorphosis change body form.
larvae may not look at all like adults within the same species.it is very important to recognize the
damaging stage for best treatment results. many insect are pests in one stage but not another.
especially larval form.
what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to agriculture? - ANSinsects that are
pollinators (bees and butterflies) or pest predators (ladybeetles and lacewings). with out
pollinators many types of plants could not reproduce and beneficial predators feed on harmful
insects, mites, and weeds.
how do mites harm plants? - ANSThey suck the plant juices, eat the underside of leaves, and
disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? - ANSthe level at which economic losses caused by pest
damage, if the pest population continued to grow, would be greater than the cost of controlling
the pests. reaching an economic threshold usually prompts some kind of pest control action.
how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy? - ANSsetting a treatment or
action threshold is essential to prevent the pests in an area from causing unacceptable injury or
harm. action thresholds vary: sometimes one pest is too many (like a rat in a food processing
facility). Thresholds help producers and applicators weigh the cost of pest control against the
cost of a pest infestation
what is monitoring and how is it important to a sound pest control strategy? - ANSregular
checking or scouting for pests in a designated area. Monitoring will tell you what pests are in an
area, how many are in the area, and how much damage they are causing. it will help determine
if the pest population has reached the treatment threshold and whether control measures have
worked.
what is the difference between prevention, suppression and eradication of a pest? -
ANSprevention means reducing the chances that a pest will become a problem. suppression
means reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level. Eradication means destroying
an entire pest population.
Applicators CORE exam
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests - ANSKey
pests are nearly always present and require regular control. occasional pests are migratory or
cyclical and require intermittent control. secondary pests require control only under certain
conditions, such as the elimination of a key pest or the absence of a natural host.
what should you do first if you see damage to a plant, animal, or valuable product/ - ANSidentify
the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? - ANSmake sure
the pest is actually responsible for the damage. then accurately identify the pest
how can pest identification help you develop a good pest control strategy? - ANSit allows you to
determine basic information about the pest, including its life-cycle and when it is most
susceptible to control measures.
name the 5 basic pest groups - ANSweeds, parasites and diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and
vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - ANSweeds are often hardy,
aggressive, and tolerant of harsh conditions. many produce large numbers of seeds which can
spread over a wide area and remain dormant for a long time.
how can you tell a monocot from a dicot? - ANSmonocots (sedges and grasses) have one
cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of 3 and fibrous roots. Dicots have 2
cotyledons, broad leaves with netted veination, and flower parts in multiples of 4 and 5 and
usually have taproots.
name the pathogens that cause most plant and animal diseases - ANSfungi, bacteria,
mycoplasma, and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - ANSstunting, yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and
mosaic patterns
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - ANSby attacking the roots, stems and leaves.
nematode root feeding interferes with a plants ability to take up water and nutrients. infected
plants wilt and seem to be suffering from a lack of water or nutrients.
, how do mollusks harm plants? - ANSby feeding on foliage and fruit. mollusks reduce the value
of commercial produce if they feed on harvested plants and fruit.
what are arthropods? how do they differ from vertebrates? - ANSarthropods are animals with
segmented bodies and jointed appendages. Arthropods have an external skeleton and may
have specialized appendages such as sucking tubes, chewing mouth parts, antennae, and
pincers. they have no backbones like vertebrates
what is the difference between gradual and complete metamorphosis? why is it important to
know the life cycle stage of an insect? - ANSgradual metamorphosis includes 3 stages: egg,
nymph and adult. there is no pupa stage. complete metamorphosis includes 4 stages: egg,
larva, pupa, and adult. insects that develop via complete metamorphosis change body form.
larvae may not look at all like adults within the same species.it is very important to recognize the
damaging stage for best treatment results. many insect are pests in one stage but not another.
especially larval form.
what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to agriculture? - ANSinsects that are
pollinators (bees and butterflies) or pest predators (ladybeetles and lacewings). with out
pollinators many types of plants could not reproduce and beneficial predators feed on harmful
insects, mites, and weeds.
how do mites harm plants? - ANSThey suck the plant juices, eat the underside of leaves, and
disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? - ANSthe level at which economic losses caused by pest
damage, if the pest population continued to grow, would be greater than the cost of controlling
the pests. reaching an economic threshold usually prompts some kind of pest control action.
how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy? - ANSsetting a treatment or
action threshold is essential to prevent the pests in an area from causing unacceptable injury or
harm. action thresholds vary: sometimes one pest is too many (like a rat in a food processing
facility). Thresholds help producers and applicators weigh the cost of pest control against the
cost of a pest infestation
what is monitoring and how is it important to a sound pest control strategy? - ANSregular
checking or scouting for pests in a designated area. Monitoring will tell you what pests are in an
area, how many are in the area, and how much damage they are causing. it will help determine
if the pest population has reached the treatment threshold and whether control measures have
worked.
what is the difference between prevention, suppression and eradication of a pest? -
ANSprevention means reducing the chances that a pest will become a problem. suppression
means reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level. Eradication means destroying
an entire pest population.
