Turf & Landscape Exam Questions and Answers Latest Update 2025 Graded A+
Describe the kinds of damage arthropod pests can cause. - Answers Chewing mouth parts: tearing
damage, notched or ragged leaves, holes in fruits and seeds, gridled stems, and chewed off roots
Piercing-sucking mouth parts (needle like feeding on plant tissue): yellowed leaves, galls, and misshapen
fruit (often mistaken by plant diseases)
*Piercing mouth transmit diseases easier
Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the types of formulation discussed in this chapter -
Answers Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC):
Describe the structural features of arthropods including how their mouth parts determine what kind of
damage they can cause. - Answers Invertebrates, exoskeleton, paired/jointed legs and other
appendages
Explain how to distinguish insects from other arthropods. - Answers Insects: sometimes wings, 3 pairs of
legs, antennae, 3 body region (head, thorax, abdomen)
Arachnids: no wings, no antennae, 4 pairs of legs, 2 body regions (head/thorax, abdomen)
Describe the differences between simple and complete metamorphosis. - Answers Simple (3 stages):
egg, nymph, and adult
Complete (4 stages): egg, larva, pupa and adult
Explain why it is important to know what kind of metamorphosis a particular pest goes through. -
Answers Management techniques can vary depending on how the insect develops
Explain how temperature and humidity affect insect development. - Answers Temp: how fast insects
grow (too low - slow down and don't function, too high - die, higher temps in threshold increase insect
abilities)
Humidity: some insects require more or less, higher humidity increases probability for diseases (help
control insect population)
,Describe some of the characteristics of the common insect pests we discuss in this chapter. - Answers
White Grubs: beetle larvae that are found in the soil and damage sod and the roots of other plants
Ants: Issues occur with mounds (kill the queen)
Black Cutworms: larvae, or caterpillar stage that does the damage, clips off grass blades and shoots with
chewing mouth parts
Sod web warms: caterpillar stage does the damage
Clinch bugs: sucking mouth parts that inject toxic saliva into various turf grass species
Japanese beetles: adults feed and damage foliage and flowers
Sawflies: can cause significant damage to forests and landscapes
Emerald Ash Borer: adults cause minimal damage to ash trees, larvae tunnel under the bark in the tree's
cambium layer that effect the tree
List the advantages and disadvantages of using insecticides. - Answers Advantages:
1. Effective against thousands of economically damaging pests.
2. Can be used to combat several different pests on a given plant
3. Act quickly
4. Large arsenal to combat even new pests
5. Usually available and many suitable formulations and application equipment
Disadvantages:
1. Often eliminate beneficial insects, allowing them to rebound quickly (increased dependence on
insecticides)
2. Can lead to resistance after repeated exposure
3. Yearly dependence is an added cost
4. Potential for drift, residues and damage to beneficial insects. (hazards to humans and environment)
Determine what determines whether a given plant is a weed. - Answers If the plant is unwanted
List the two main goals of weed management. - Answers Minimize weed competition, Limit weed's
reproduction
, Describe ways that weeds can pose problems in turf and landscapes. - Answers 1. Interfere with
management practices
2. Produce chemical inhibitors that directly retard growth of desirable plants
3. Create a poor impression on customers
4. Interfere with pesticide applications
5. Support insect pests and plant diseases or provide cover for rodents
6. Poisonous, allergenic, or irritating to people and pets
7. Interfere with intended use of site
8. Dry out or die and become fire hazards around roads, buildings, or woody plantings.
Distinguish grasses from broad leaf plants and herbaceous from woody plants. - Answers Grasses:
narrow, one seed leaf, parallel veins
Broadleaves: broad, two seed leaves, veins form net-like pattern
Describe the life cycles of annual, biennial, and perennial plants and how they reproduce. - Answers
Annuals: live less than 12 months and can produce great numbers in a single growing season
Biennials: live for 2 growing seasons- first season leaves, second season flowers and reproduces with
seeds
Perennials: live at least 2 years and sometimes much longer
*if germinate through seed, usually don't flower in first season
Outline what is needed to kill annual, biennial, and perennial weeds and when it is easiest to do so. -
Answers Annual and biennial: must kill whole shoot, herbicides are generally more effective
Perennial: most effective approach is to destroy underground structure (repeatedly tilling the soil or use
herbicide that trans locates to and kills the complete vegetation system)
Explain the difference between preplant, preemergence, and postemergence herbicide applications. -
Answers Preplant: made before planting turf or ornamentals
Describe the kinds of damage arthropod pests can cause. - Answers Chewing mouth parts: tearing
damage, notched or ragged leaves, holes in fruits and seeds, gridled stems, and chewed off roots
Piercing-sucking mouth parts (needle like feeding on plant tissue): yellowed leaves, galls, and misshapen
fruit (often mistaken by plant diseases)
*Piercing mouth transmit diseases easier
Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the types of formulation discussed in this chapter -
Answers Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC):
Describe the structural features of arthropods including how their mouth parts determine what kind of
damage they can cause. - Answers Invertebrates, exoskeleton, paired/jointed legs and other
appendages
Explain how to distinguish insects from other arthropods. - Answers Insects: sometimes wings, 3 pairs of
legs, antennae, 3 body region (head, thorax, abdomen)
Arachnids: no wings, no antennae, 4 pairs of legs, 2 body regions (head/thorax, abdomen)
Describe the differences between simple and complete metamorphosis. - Answers Simple (3 stages):
egg, nymph, and adult
Complete (4 stages): egg, larva, pupa and adult
Explain why it is important to know what kind of metamorphosis a particular pest goes through. -
Answers Management techniques can vary depending on how the insect develops
Explain how temperature and humidity affect insect development. - Answers Temp: how fast insects
grow (too low - slow down and don't function, too high - die, higher temps in threshold increase insect
abilities)
Humidity: some insects require more or less, higher humidity increases probability for diseases (help
control insect population)
,Describe some of the characteristics of the common insect pests we discuss in this chapter. - Answers
White Grubs: beetle larvae that are found in the soil and damage sod and the roots of other plants
Ants: Issues occur with mounds (kill the queen)
Black Cutworms: larvae, or caterpillar stage that does the damage, clips off grass blades and shoots with
chewing mouth parts
Sod web warms: caterpillar stage does the damage
Clinch bugs: sucking mouth parts that inject toxic saliva into various turf grass species
Japanese beetles: adults feed and damage foliage and flowers
Sawflies: can cause significant damage to forests and landscapes
Emerald Ash Borer: adults cause minimal damage to ash trees, larvae tunnel under the bark in the tree's
cambium layer that effect the tree
List the advantages and disadvantages of using insecticides. - Answers Advantages:
1. Effective against thousands of economically damaging pests.
2. Can be used to combat several different pests on a given plant
3. Act quickly
4. Large arsenal to combat even new pests
5. Usually available and many suitable formulations and application equipment
Disadvantages:
1. Often eliminate beneficial insects, allowing them to rebound quickly (increased dependence on
insecticides)
2. Can lead to resistance after repeated exposure
3. Yearly dependence is an added cost
4. Potential for drift, residues and damage to beneficial insects. (hazards to humans and environment)
Determine what determines whether a given plant is a weed. - Answers If the plant is unwanted
List the two main goals of weed management. - Answers Minimize weed competition, Limit weed's
reproduction
, Describe ways that weeds can pose problems in turf and landscapes. - Answers 1. Interfere with
management practices
2. Produce chemical inhibitors that directly retard growth of desirable plants
3. Create a poor impression on customers
4. Interfere with pesticide applications
5. Support insect pests and plant diseases or provide cover for rodents
6. Poisonous, allergenic, or irritating to people and pets
7. Interfere with intended use of site
8. Dry out or die and become fire hazards around roads, buildings, or woody plantings.
Distinguish grasses from broad leaf plants and herbaceous from woody plants. - Answers Grasses:
narrow, one seed leaf, parallel veins
Broadleaves: broad, two seed leaves, veins form net-like pattern
Describe the life cycles of annual, biennial, and perennial plants and how they reproduce. - Answers
Annuals: live less than 12 months and can produce great numbers in a single growing season
Biennials: live for 2 growing seasons- first season leaves, second season flowers and reproduces with
seeds
Perennials: live at least 2 years and sometimes much longer
*if germinate through seed, usually don't flower in first season
Outline what is needed to kill annual, biennial, and perennial weeds and when it is easiest to do so. -
Answers Annual and biennial: must kill whole shoot, herbicides are generally more effective
Perennial: most effective approach is to destroy underground structure (repeatedly tilling the soil or use
herbicide that trans locates to and kills the complete vegetation system)
Explain the difference between preplant, preemergence, and postemergence herbicide applications. -
Answers Preplant: made before planting turf or ornamentals
