VIRGINIA COMMERCIAL PESTICIDE APPLICATORS CORE EXAM
/ STUDY GUIDE LATEST VERSION / QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS / A GRADE SCORE SOLUTION.
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests - Answer--Key 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/ - Answer--identify
the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? - Answer--make 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? - Answer--it 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 - Answer--weeds, parasites and diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and
vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - Answer--weeds 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? - Answer--monocots (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 - Answer--fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma,
and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - Answer--stunting, yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and
mosaic patterns
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - Answer--by 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 mites harm plants? - Answer--They suck the plant juices, eat the underside of leaves, and
disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? - Answer--the 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? - Answer--setting 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? - Answer--regular 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.
/ STUDY GUIDE LATEST VERSION / QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS / A GRADE SCORE SOLUTION.
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests - Answer--Key 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/ - Answer--identify
the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? - Answer--make 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? - Answer--it 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 - Answer--weeds, parasites and diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and
vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - Answer--weeds 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? - Answer--monocots (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 - Answer--fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma,
and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - Answer--stunting, yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and
mosaic patterns
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - Answer--by 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 mites harm plants? - Answer--They suck the plant juices, eat the underside of leaves, and
disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? - Answer--the 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? - Answer--setting 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? - Answer--regular 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.
