Iowa 3OT Pesticide Manual questions and answers A+ Grade
2026\2027
EPA reported this much was spent on pesticide use for industrial/commercial/government sector and
this much was spend for home and garden sector in 2012
- correct answer 1.4 billion; 3.3 billion
Define integrated pest management
- correct answer System that uses all available and suitable pest control tactics to reduce pest
populations to tolerable levels while minimizing adverse environmental side effects.
Explain how aesthetic thresholds affect IPM tactics
- correct answer Aesthetic thresholds are based on tolerance, personal comfort, taste, plant
appearance, and specific site conditions.
Nurseries and the like have zero pest tolerance whereas landscape plantings might have low tolerance.
Healthy lawns have a higher threshold than stressed, weakened lawns
Explain how IPM can reduce the use of pesticides
- correct answer Pesticides are not meant to be a solution to all problems.
IPM provides the most effective solutions in all regards, which may not always be pesticides.
List the six control strategies used in IPM
- correct answer Cultural
Mechanical
Host resistance
Biological
Regulatory
,chemical
Define pesticide
- correct answer Any material used to kill, attract, repel, regulate, or interrupt growth and mating of
pests, or to regulate plant growth
Contact pesticides
- correct answer Must physically touch the pest organism or be sprayed on the site the pest frequents to
exert an action
Example would be protective fungicide
Must be re-applied to new plant tissues or if precipitation washes product off
Systemic pesticide
- correct answer Enters the plant via roots or above ground plant tissues and is moved inside of the
plant.
Could render plant toxic to insect or mice
Could move through plant to kill parts of the plant
Example would be curative fungicide because it penetrates the plant and stops disease
Preemergence
- correct answer Applied prior to weed seed germination.
Little to no effect on weeds that have emerged
Postemergence
- correct answer Applied to actively growing plants.
Work best in sunlight, high humidity, good soil moisture
Selective pesticide
- correct answer Control only certain types or stages of pests while leaving nontarget organisms
unaffected.
Example would be herbicide that kills broadleaf weeds and not turfgrass
,Nonselective pesticide
- correct answer Exert their action on a wide variety of pests.
Control most of the plants they are sprayed on.
Identify the best application timing for effective pest control as it pertains to: plant diseases, insects, and
weeds
- correct answer Plant diseases
For fungicides, it is critical that susceptible tissues be protected before an infection begins or at the first
appearance of any symptoms
Insects
The younger the stage of insect, the more susceptible it is to chemical control.
Weeds
Generally most effective when applied to actively growing plants and least effective when plants are not
actively growing
Annual weeds are easiest to control in early spring
Biennials should be treated in fall or early spring when in the rosette stage
Perennial weeds can be controlled in early bloom stage or in the fall
Explain how pesticide resistance develops in a pest population
- correct answer Resistance is the ability of a pest species that was once effectively controlled by a
pesticide to survive spray concentrations that were previously effective.
It is an inherited trait that results from repeated applications of pesticides with the same site of action
or mode of action.
Examples include pythium blight in turfgrass, botrytis in ornamental, green peach aphid in insects, and
goosegrass weeds
State the importance of the numeric codes at the top of a pesticide label and pesticide resistance
- correct answer These codes help applicators quickly identify the mode of action by looking at the
group number.
Varying this can help reduce resistance
, State four ways to minimize pesticide drift
- correct answer Correctly chosen nozzle
Reduced spray pressure
Monitor weather conditions
Keeping the spray nozzle near the target
Summarize the ways in which pesticides can injure nontarget plants
- correct answer Contact can kill or injure plants
Movement into the root zone where it can be absorbed is also bad
List posting rules for a pesticide application
- correct answer Required for urban areas or municipalities
Notification signs must be posted at the start of an application to a treatment site
4 by 5 inches, weather proof, and above grass line
"This are is chemically treated. Keep off. Do not remove sign for 24 hours."
Explain how to clean up hard surfaces after a granular application
- correct answer Blow or sweep the material back into the turfgrass area or on the plant beds.
Keep away from storm drain entrances
List two characteristics of water that may influence the effectiveness of a spray mixture
- correct answer Water pH is one area of concern.
If the water is alkaline (pH greater than 7) it can cause alkaline hydrolysis.
If water is acidic (pH less than 7) it can cause acid hydrolysis
Hardness of water is another concern
Hardness is the amount of dissolved minerals in water
Can inactivate pesticides
Most groundwater in Iowa has a pH between
- correct answer 6.5 and 8.0
2026\2027
EPA reported this much was spent on pesticide use for industrial/commercial/government sector and
this much was spend for home and garden sector in 2012
- correct answer 1.4 billion; 3.3 billion
Define integrated pest management
- correct answer System that uses all available and suitable pest control tactics to reduce pest
populations to tolerable levels while minimizing adverse environmental side effects.
Explain how aesthetic thresholds affect IPM tactics
- correct answer Aesthetic thresholds are based on tolerance, personal comfort, taste, plant
appearance, and specific site conditions.
Nurseries and the like have zero pest tolerance whereas landscape plantings might have low tolerance.
Healthy lawns have a higher threshold than stressed, weakened lawns
Explain how IPM can reduce the use of pesticides
- correct answer Pesticides are not meant to be a solution to all problems.
IPM provides the most effective solutions in all regards, which may not always be pesticides.
List the six control strategies used in IPM
- correct answer Cultural
Mechanical
Host resistance
Biological
Regulatory
,chemical
Define pesticide
- correct answer Any material used to kill, attract, repel, regulate, or interrupt growth and mating of
pests, or to regulate plant growth
Contact pesticides
- correct answer Must physically touch the pest organism or be sprayed on the site the pest frequents to
exert an action
Example would be protective fungicide
Must be re-applied to new plant tissues or if precipitation washes product off
Systemic pesticide
- correct answer Enters the plant via roots or above ground plant tissues and is moved inside of the
plant.
Could render plant toxic to insect or mice
Could move through plant to kill parts of the plant
Example would be curative fungicide because it penetrates the plant and stops disease
Preemergence
- correct answer Applied prior to weed seed germination.
Little to no effect on weeds that have emerged
Postemergence
- correct answer Applied to actively growing plants.
Work best in sunlight, high humidity, good soil moisture
Selective pesticide
- correct answer Control only certain types or stages of pests while leaving nontarget organisms
unaffected.
Example would be herbicide that kills broadleaf weeds and not turfgrass
,Nonselective pesticide
- correct answer Exert their action on a wide variety of pests.
Control most of the plants they are sprayed on.
Identify the best application timing for effective pest control as it pertains to: plant diseases, insects, and
weeds
- correct answer Plant diseases
For fungicides, it is critical that susceptible tissues be protected before an infection begins or at the first
appearance of any symptoms
Insects
The younger the stage of insect, the more susceptible it is to chemical control.
Weeds
Generally most effective when applied to actively growing plants and least effective when plants are not
actively growing
Annual weeds are easiest to control in early spring
Biennials should be treated in fall or early spring when in the rosette stage
Perennial weeds can be controlled in early bloom stage or in the fall
Explain how pesticide resistance develops in a pest population
- correct answer Resistance is the ability of a pest species that was once effectively controlled by a
pesticide to survive spray concentrations that were previously effective.
It is an inherited trait that results from repeated applications of pesticides with the same site of action
or mode of action.
Examples include pythium blight in turfgrass, botrytis in ornamental, green peach aphid in insects, and
goosegrass weeds
State the importance of the numeric codes at the top of a pesticide label and pesticide resistance
- correct answer These codes help applicators quickly identify the mode of action by looking at the
group number.
Varying this can help reduce resistance
, State four ways to minimize pesticide drift
- correct answer Correctly chosen nozzle
Reduced spray pressure
Monitor weather conditions
Keeping the spray nozzle near the target
Summarize the ways in which pesticides can injure nontarget plants
- correct answer Contact can kill or injure plants
Movement into the root zone where it can be absorbed is also bad
List posting rules for a pesticide application
- correct answer Required for urban areas or municipalities
Notification signs must be posted at the start of an application to a treatment site
4 by 5 inches, weather proof, and above grass line
"This are is chemically treated. Keep off. Do not remove sign for 24 hours."
Explain how to clean up hard surfaces after a granular application
- correct answer Blow or sweep the material back into the turfgrass area or on the plant beds.
Keep away from storm drain entrances
List two characteristics of water that may influence the effectiveness of a spray mixture
- correct answer Water pH is one area of concern.
If the water is alkaline (pH greater than 7) it can cause alkaline hydrolysis.
If water is acidic (pH less than 7) it can cause acid hydrolysis
Hardness of water is another concern
Hardness is the amount of dissolved minerals in water
Can inactivate pesticides
Most groundwater in Iowa has a pH between
- correct answer 6.5 and 8.0
