CH 2: Principles of Pest Control Flashcards
What is a key pest
always present, require regular control
What is an occasional pest
are migratory or cyclical, require intermittent control
What is a Secondary Pest
require control only under certain conditions, such as elimination of a key pest or the absence of a natural host
What is the first step when you see damage to a plant, animal or commodity?
Identify the cause
You discover a pest that may need to be controlled, what do you do?
Determine if it is responsible for the damage, then identify the pest
How does pest identification help you develop a good pest control strategy
Allows you to determine basic information about the pest including its life cycle and when it is most susceptible to control
Name (3) Virginia Tech facilities that can help ID a pest and diagnose an infestation
Weed ID Clinic
Plant Disease Clinic
Nematode Assay Lab
Insect Identification Lab
Name (5) basic pest groups
Weeds Parasites and diseases mollusks, arthropods vertebrates
Why are weeds challenging to control?
Hardy, aggressive, tolerant of harsh conditions
Prolific seed spreaders
Seed remains dormant for extended time
Compete for soil moisture, nutrients and sunlight
What is a monocot
grass or sedge have 1 seed leaf parallel leaf veins flower parts are in multiples of threes fibrous roots
What is a Dicot
broadleaves 2 seed leaves netlike veins flower parts are in multiples of 4 or 5 have taproots
Why are perennial weeds harder to control than annual weeds
Perennials live for many years
store food underground in plant parts that are hard to reach and control
What pathogens cause most plant and animal diseases
Fungi
bacteria
mycoplasmas
viruses
What symptoms do viral plant diseases often cause
stunting, yellow rings on leaves, wilting, mosaic patterns (yellow or bleached streaks)
How do parasites harm animals?
host and transmit diseases reduce weight gain decrease milk or egg production interfere with reproduction lower disease resistance
How do plant-parsitic nematodes harm plants
attack the roots stems and leaves
interfere with water and nutrient uptake
Plants wilt
How do mollusks harm plants
eat foliage and fruit
What are arthropods?
segmented body
jointed appendages
external skeleton
no backbone
What is gradual metamorphosis
3 stages:
egg - nymph - adult
no pupa stage
What is complete metamorphosis
4 stages
egg - larva- pupa - adult
change in body form
may look different from adult
Insect characteristics:
Insects: 3 body parts
1 or 2 pair of wings
3 pair of legs
one pair of antennae
Arachnid characteristics:
Arachnids: 2 body parts
zero wings
4 pair of legs
zero antennae
What are beneficial insects?
pollinators (bees and butterflies) pest predators (ladybird beetles, lacewings)
How do mites harm plants?
suck plant juices, eat undersides of leaves, disfigure plants
Define Vertebrate damage
destroy feed, eat seeds, traffic accidents, compete with livestock, destroy landscapes, feed on domesticated animals
How do you control indoor vertebrates
eradication (typically of rodents)
How do you control outdoor vertebrates
suppression (coyotes, raccoons, beavers) to an acceptable level
Define economic threshold
level where economic losses caused by a pest begins to be greater than the cost of control
How are thresholds important
help produces weigh the cost of pest control against the cost of pest infestation
Define prevention
reducing the chances that a pest will become a problem
Define suppression
reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level
Eradication
destroying an entire pest population
How to prevent a pest infestation
plant weed and disease free seed, choose plants resistant to disease, practice good sanitation, exclude pests from the target area, use pre-emergent herbicides
Define regulatory pest control
done at state or federal level
may involve eradication or quarantines
Define Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Ecological approach
based on habitat and life cycle of pest
Combines chemical and non-chemical methods
Goal is to reduce populations to an acceptable level
