Virginia Commercial Pesticide
Applicators CORE Exam Questions
Complete With Answers
\.Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests -
CORRECT ANSWERS -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/ - CORRECT ANSWERS -identify the cause
\.what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -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? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -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 - CORRECT ANSWERS -weeds, parasites and
diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.
,\.why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -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? - CORRECT ANSWERS -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 - CORRECT
ANSWERS -fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma, and viruses
\.what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - CORRECT ANSWERS -stunting,
yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and mosaic patterns
\.how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - CORRECT ANSWERS -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 mollusks harm plants? - CORRECT ANSWERS -by 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? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -arthropods 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? - CORRECT ANSWERS -
gradual 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? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -insects 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? - CORRECT ANSWERS -They suck the plant juices,
eat the underside of leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
\.what is an economic threshold? - CORRECT ANSWERS -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.
Applicators CORE Exam Questions
Complete With Answers
\.Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and secondary pests -
CORRECT ANSWERS -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/ - CORRECT ANSWERS -identify the cause
\.what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be controlled? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -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? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -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 - CORRECT ANSWERS -weeds, parasites and
diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.
,\.why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -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? - CORRECT ANSWERS -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 - CORRECT
ANSWERS -fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma, and viruses
\.what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases - CORRECT ANSWERS -stunting,
yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and mosaic patterns
\.how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? - CORRECT ANSWERS -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 mollusks harm plants? - CORRECT ANSWERS -by 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? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -arthropods 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? - CORRECT ANSWERS -
gradual 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? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -insects 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? - CORRECT ANSWERS -They suck the plant juices,
eat the underside of leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
\.what is an economic threshold? - CORRECT ANSWERS -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.
