LANDSCAPE
MAINTENANCE/ORNAMENTAL AND
TURF EXAM 2025 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) - ANS The primary agency regulating pesticides in
Texas.
The Texas Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS) - ANS Also licenses people to apply
pesticides to lawns, ornamental plants, and weeds to control landscape pests.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - ANS You need to take a comprehensive approach that
uses biological, cultural, physical, and chemical controls in a careful, environmentally sound
manner. The terms for this approach is .....
Natural Factors - ANS ....influence pests include climate, natural barriers and enemies,
population developmnt and dynamics, and the availability of shelter, food, and water. These
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,XXXXX factors may cause pest populations to increase or decrease without influence from
humans.
Biological Control - ANS ....involves manipulating the natural enemies of pests-those that kill
and eat pests (predators), those that feed on but do not necessarily kill pests (parasites), or
those that cause diseases in pests (pathogens). You can encourage and maintain high
population levels of these natural enemies by using pesticides carefully or by releasing a pest's
enemies into the target area.
Cultural Control - ANS ....methods are the activities involved in taking care of the plants, such
as site selection and watering practices. These techniques can alter the environment around
the plants to affect the pests that could be attacking them.
Mechanical Control - ANS ....involves the use of equipment or manual operations to keep out
or disrupt the life cycle of pests. Barriers that exclude pests include fencing, plastic mulches,
and row covers.
Host Plant Resistance - ANS ....Some plants can tolerate damage from certain pests or are
unsuitable for pest development; this trait is known as xxxxxxxx. For example, the St. Augustine
grass variety 'Floratam' is resistant to chinch bugs.
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, Chemical Control - ANS ....involves the use of pesticides to destroy pests, control their
activity, or prevent them from causing damage. Chemical pesticides are often the quickest way
to control pests and, in some cases, the only alternative.
Plant Selection - ANS A critical step in pest control is to choose the proper plant or variety for
the landscape. Choose all landscape plants according to their water requirements, shade
tolerance, and susceptibility to pests.
Water - ANS Too much or too little xxxxx can damage or kill plants. Lack of water causes
leaves to wilt, droop and drop. Excess water in the soil forces out the oxygen that plant roots
need to survive.
Fertilization - ANS Plants need 16 elements, which in horticulture are called plant nutrients.
The soil usually contains enough of these nutrients for normal plant growth. Nitrogen is
normally the most limiting plant nutrient. It constitutes the foundation of most common
fertilizers. The elements needed in tiny amounts are called micronutrients. The best way to
determine how much and what kind of fertilizer that a landscape needs is to take a soil sample.
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
MAINTENANCE/ORNAMENTAL AND
TURF EXAM 2025 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) - ANS The primary agency regulating pesticides in
Texas.
The Texas Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS) - ANS Also licenses people to apply
pesticides to lawns, ornamental plants, and weeds to control landscape pests.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - ANS You need to take a comprehensive approach that
uses biological, cultural, physical, and chemical controls in a careful, environmentally sound
manner. The terms for this approach is .....
Natural Factors - ANS ....influence pests include climate, natural barriers and enemies,
population developmnt and dynamics, and the availability of shelter, food, and water. These
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,XXXXX factors may cause pest populations to increase or decrease without influence from
humans.
Biological Control - ANS ....involves manipulating the natural enemies of pests-those that kill
and eat pests (predators), those that feed on but do not necessarily kill pests (parasites), or
those that cause diseases in pests (pathogens). You can encourage and maintain high
population levels of these natural enemies by using pesticides carefully or by releasing a pest's
enemies into the target area.
Cultural Control - ANS ....methods are the activities involved in taking care of the plants, such
as site selection and watering practices. These techniques can alter the environment around
the plants to affect the pests that could be attacking them.
Mechanical Control - ANS ....involves the use of equipment or manual operations to keep out
or disrupt the life cycle of pests. Barriers that exclude pests include fencing, plastic mulches,
and row covers.
Host Plant Resistance - ANS ....Some plants can tolerate damage from certain pests or are
unsuitable for pest development; this trait is known as xxxxxxxx. For example, the St. Augustine
grass variety 'Floratam' is resistant to chinch bugs.
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, Chemical Control - ANS ....involves the use of pesticides to destroy pests, control their
activity, or prevent them from causing damage. Chemical pesticides are often the quickest way
to control pests and, in some cases, the only alternative.
Plant Selection - ANS A critical step in pest control is to choose the proper plant or variety for
the landscape. Choose all landscape plants according to their water requirements, shade
tolerance, and susceptibility to pests.
Water - ANS Too much or too little xxxxx can damage or kill plants. Lack of water causes
leaves to wilt, droop and drop. Excess water in the soil forces out the oxygen that plant roots
need to survive.
Fertilization - ANS Plants need 16 elements, which in horticulture are called plant nutrients.
The soil usually contains enough of these nutrients for normal plant growth. Nitrogen is
normally the most limiting plant nutrient. It constitutes the foundation of most common
fertilizers. The elements needed in tiny amounts are called micronutrients. The best way to
determine how much and what kind of fertilizer that a landscape needs is to take a soil sample.
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
