Lawn Pest Control

Question 0

Why do you need to understand the life cycles and habits of the pest you need to manage?

Answer 0

Knowing about a pest’s lifecycle helps to: identify it in all it’s growth stages, predict what kind of damage it is likely to cause in each stage, and use control measures at the times when the pest is most vulnerable.

Question 1

Why is pest ID important?

Answer 1

You can’t make a good decision about how to manage a pest problem until you are sure what the pest is. Pests differ in their life cycles, habitats, behavior, & to various control methods.

Question 2

List some factors to consider when deciding whether control of the pest is necessary.

Answer 2

Is the pest causing any harm? Will the cost of control be more than the economic loss from the damage the pest is causing?

Question 3

Explain the three primary objectives of pest-control: prevention, suppression, and eradication.

Answer 3

Prevention means starting control measures before a pest becomes a problem. Suppression means reducing the numbers of pest or their damage to an acceptable level. Eradication means destroying an entire pest population in an area

Question 4

List some nonchemical methods that can be used to control pests in some agricultural situations.

Answer 4

Nonchemical control methods include: host resistance, biological control, cultural control, mechanical control, and sanitation.

Question 5

Explain what is meant by persistent pesticides and non-persistent pesticides.

Answer 5

A persistent pesticide remains active for a period do time after application, giving continued protection against the pest. A non-persistent pesticide breaks down quickly after it’s applied.

Question 6

Explain the action of contact pesticides, systemic pesticides, and translocated herbicides.

Answer 6

Contact pesticides act when the pest touches them. Systemic pesticides are taken into the blood of the host animal or the sap of the host plant. The pest is killed as it feeds, but they host is not harmed by the pesticide. Translocated herbicides kill plants by being absorbed by leaves, stems, or roots and moving throughout the plant.

Question 7

What two physical characteristics do all mature insects have in common?

Answer 7

All mature insects have six legs and three body parts head, thorax, and abdomen.

Question 8

What are the stages in the lifecycle of a weed?

Answer 8

Weeds have for developmental stages: seedling, vegetative, seed production, and maturity.

Question 9

What kind of fungicide is an eradicant?

Answer 9

An eradicant is applied after infection occurs; kills disease organisms on contact, or prevents further growth and reproduction.

Question 10

What kind of fungicide is a systemic fungicide?

Answer 10

A systemic fungicide moves in the sap from the application site to other plant parts, where it kills the disease organisms.

Question 11

What kind of fungicide is a protectant fungicide?

Answer 11

A protectant fungicide is applied before or during infection of the plant by the pathogen.

Question 12

What is a seedling?

Answer 12

A seedling can be described as small, delicate plantlets.

Question 13

Describe the stage of weed development called maturity.

Answer 13

When a weed reaches maturity it requires little or no energy production or movement of water and nutrients.

Question 14

Describe the vegetative stage of weed development.

Answer 14

The vegetative stage of weed development is characterized by fast growth; production of stems, roots, and leaves; fast uptake of water and nutrients.

Question 15

Describe the seed production stage of weed development.

Answer 15

During seed production energy is directed to producing flowers and seed.

Question 16

Describe an annual plant.

Answer 16

An annual plant grows from seed, matures, and produces seed for the next generation in one year or less.

Question 17

Describe a summer annual plant.

Answer 17

A summer annual plant has a one year lifecycle; grows from seeds that germinate in the spring.

Question 18

Describe a winter annual plant.

Answer 18

A winter annual plant has a one year lifecycle and grows from seeds the germinate in the fall.

Question 19

Describe a biennial plant.

Answer 19

A biennial plant has a two year lifecycle.

Question 20

Describe a perennial plant.

Answer 20

A perennial plant lives for more than two years.

Question 21

List several ways weeds reproduce.

Answer 21

Depending on the type, weeds may reproduce by seeds, tubers, bulbs, bulblets, rhizomes, stolons, or from root pieces left by cultivation.

Question 22

Describe grasses.

Answer 22

Grasses are narrow upright leaves with parallel veins; seedlings have one leaf; and round stems.

Question 23

Describe sedges.

Answer 23

Sedges have triangular stems; three rows of leaves.

Question 24

Describe broadleaf weeds.

Answer 24

Broadleaf weeds have wide leaves with net like veins; seedlings have two leaves.

Question 25

Describe vascular plants.

Answer 25

Vascular plants are aquatic plants that are similar to land plants; have stems, leaves, flowers, and roots.

Question 26

Describe emergent plants.

Answer 26

Emergent plants are aquatic plants that are rooted to the bottom, but extend above the water surface.

Question 27

Describe floating plants.

Answer 27

With floating plants, all or part of the plant floats on the water surface.

Question 28

Describe submergent plants

Answer 28

With submergent plants most of the plant grows under the water surface.

Question 29

Describe algae.

Answer 29

Algae are aquatic plants without true stems, leaves, or vascular systems.

Question 30

Describe planktonic algae.

Answer 30

Planktonic algae are microscopic floating plants; make cause colored blooms in the water.

Question 31

Describe Filamentous algae.

Answer 31

Long, thin strands of algae that extend from underwater surfaces or form floating mats.

Question 32

Describe macroscopic freshwater algae.

Answer 32

Large algae that look like vascular plants, but have no true roots, stems, or leaves,

Question 33

List several factors that affect a plants susceptibility to herbicides.

Answer 33

Some of the factors affecting a plants susceptibility to herbicides include: location of growing points, leaf characteristics, such as shape, waxy cuticle, and leaf hairs, size and age of the plant, the plant’s ability to stop the action of the herbicide, the plant’s lifecycle stage.