Agron. 114 Final Exam

1. Most of the total water use on a farm in the Midwest is related to crop production. Most of the water used by crops is for

a) livestock

b) conservation

c) root growth

d) seed growth

e) evapotranspiration

2. Which of the following stimulates plant cell elongation?

a) fusarium

b) phytochrome

c) lanolin

d) anti-auxin(anti-IAA)

e) gibberellic acid

3. Which weed, not only hurts crop yields, but also causes human suffering?

a) giant ragweed

b) ergot

c) common milkweed

d) wild sunflower

e) quackgrass

4. The population of insect A began to increase after the population of insect B increased. Both insect species increased at similar rates, but insect A population remained high longer that insect B before they both declined later in the season. The population trends of both insects were related to each other. Which statement is most logical?

a) insect A would be more damaging to crops

b) insect B was not as resistant

c) both insects were probably equally damaging to crops

d) insect A had more gradual metamorphosis than insect B

e) insect B probably was the prey of insect A

5. Triticum aestivum is the number one crop in the world for making

a) pasta

b) beer

c) oatmeal

d) rubber tires

e) french fries

6. The leafhopper is a primary vector for

a) bacterial wilt

b) stem rust

c) stalk rot

d) virus diseases

e) brown stem rot

7. Which of the following would you normally expect to encounter when switching from a conventional tillage system to a slot (no-till) planting system?

a) warmer soils in spring

b) changing weed problems

c) drier soils in early spring

d) greater dependence on fall subsoil moisture

e) greater soil erosion

8. Which substance can form on corn grain that is used as a food delicacy?

a) corn smut

b) Gibberella ear rot

c) aflatoxin

d) ergot

e) Rhynchosporium orthosporum

9. Suppose the co-op elevator would not discount soybean prices given to farmers who brought in 14% moisture soybeans to sell to the co-op. If the farmers brought in 100 bushels of soybeans at 10% moisture, who would gain at what amount? (1bu = 60 lbs; selling price is $12.00 per bu)

a) 8.00 to the farmer's gain

b) 48.00 to the elevator's gain

c) 80.00 to the farmer's gain

d) 80.00 to the elevator's gain

e) 480.00 to the farmer's gain

10. Mycorrhizae are best described as

a) bacteria

b) beneficial

c) biological control

d) pathogens

e) parasitic

11. Problems with seed and seedling blight disease on silty clay soils that were no-tilled were probably due to

a) high soil moisture

b) high soil temperature

c) compacted soil

d) planting depth

e) seed-to-soil contact

12. Which kernel part mainly determines bread making ability in wheat?

a) endosperm

b) bran

c) coleorhiza

d) scutellum

e) epicotyl

13. Insect populations would develop resistance to a chemical

a) faster than weeds because they are of animal tissue rather than plant tissue

b) slower than weeds because of the time required per generation development

c) only if they were a member of the soil insect complex

d) faster than diseases

e) faster than weeds because of relative population size and generation time

14. Grain corn (compared with seed corn) is:

a) harvested before physiological maturity

b) at lower physiological maturity

c) harvested after storage maturity

d) harvested with more aggressive threshing action stored

e) harvested at higher kernel dry weights

15. To increase the digestibility of alfalfa, what method would be used?

a) delayed cutting

b) bailing hay at higher moisture content

c) apply a defoliant prior to cutting

d) use a synthetic variety breeding method

e) add tetrazolium

16. Organic matter makes up approximately what percent of loam soil?

a) 5%

b) 10%

c) 15%

d) 20%

e) 25%

17. An Ames adapted variety of soybeans was planted May 20 near Ames, Iowa and at the same date just south of Minneapolis, Minnesota. If the temperature was the same at both locations from planting until flowering

a) the field near St. Paul would flower first

b) the field near Ames would grow taller

c) the field near Ames would flower first

d) the two fields would flower at the same time

e) the plants in the two fields would be the same height

18. Which soil type would be the slowest to warm up in the spring?

a) sandy soil

b) sandy loam soil

c) loam soil

d) silt loam soil

e) silty clay loam soil

19. A young soil, as compared to a mature soil, would generally have

a) less definite profile development

b) well developed surface drainage

c) a well defined B horizon

d) been developed under forest vegetation

e) hilly topography

20. Soil water which is relatively available for plant use is

a) capillary water

b) gravitational water

c) hygroscopic water

d) percolated water

e) not available in soil at field capacity

21. A legume plant would definitely have

a) imperfect flowers

b) trifoliolate leaves

c) a fibrous root system

d) nitrogen fixing roots

e) epigeal germination

22. Corn for ethanol is capturing a greater market share of the corn industry in the U.S. As a result, we are seeing more interest in producing better yielding ethanol hybrids. This interest has caused more focus on

.a) pure line varieties

b) endosperm

c) ease of protein utilization

d) improve seed quality for planting

e) lactic acid production

23. The ET for alfalfa weevil varies from 1.6 to 7.4. Which combination would have the highest ET (forage value/ton listed first, followed by control cost/ha)?

a) 45, 7

b) 45, 13

c) 85, 7

d) 85, 13

e) 115, 13

24. All plant differences are determined by which two things?

a) mutations and physiology

b) daylength and anatomy

c) yield and nutritive value

d) genetics and environment

e) environment and location

25. Alfalfa in Iowa should overwinter better when covered with

a) 4 centimeters of ice

b) 4 centimeters of snow

c) 8 centimeters of snow

d) 16 centimeters of snow

e) no ice or snow

26. If you are facing south and the wind is coming from the north, striking you in the back, a low pressure cell is

a) north of you

b) south of you

c) east of you

d) west of you

e) directly over you

27. A farmer planted birdsfoot trefoil with a broadcast seeder followed by shallow disking and a roller. The stand failed during germination and establishment. Which one of the seeding objectives was most likely not met by the planting method used and probably resulted in stand failure?

a) proper depth placement

b) good seed-soil contact

c) proper rate and distribution

d) time of planting

e) fertilizer placement

28. Which of the following insects hatch from eggs laid by an adult beetle?

a) Western corn rootworm

b) black cutworm

c) Hessian fly

d) green cloverworm

e) European corn borer

29. A grass utilized for its edible seeds is a

a) tuber crop

b) cereal crop

c) pulse crop

d) nurse crop

e) nut crop

30. What compound is responsible for poor silage quality from low grain content when corn is planted at extremely high plant population?

a) LAI

b) NAR

c) phosphon

d) gibberellic acid

e) IAA

31. Wilting of plants

a) begins when the moisture tension at the outer surface of the soil particle water film reaches 15 atmospheres

b) is caused by increasing the cell turgor

c) is only a physical condition of the plant and does not affect the plant's physiology

d) occurs more readily when vapor pressure deficits are high

e) results in the opening of stoma

32. Soil structure

a) refers to the particle size

b) refers to soil aggregation

c) refers to the amount of soil moisture

d) lowers soil pH

e) varies according to fertility

33. Which test is used for determining the legality of selling seed for planting purposes?

a) standard tetrazolium test

b) standard germination test

c) standard clorox test

d) standard dockage test

e) standard test weight

34. The following statement about "open-canopy" and "closed- canopy" varieties of soybeans is true

a) open-canopy varieties usually intercept more sunlight in narrower rows

b) open-canopy varieties have a greater LAI across different row widths

c) open-canopy varieties usually give higher yields in wide rows

d) closed-canopy varieties give a greater response to narrow row widths than do open-canopy varieties

e) weed growth would probably be greater in closed-canopy varieties

35. Alfisols

a) were developed under arid conditions

b) have lime accumulation in the topsoil

c) are found in the western part of the U.S.

d) were developed under higher rainfall areas

e) do not need added nitrogen for high crop yields

36. Doubling the rate of a translocated herbicide for dandelions in your yard, resulting in poor weed control, usually implies that what plant part was destroyed too quickly?

a) phloem

b) chloroplast

c) leaf

d) nodule

e) cell wall

37. Weeds that rapidly overtake, what previously was a good 2-year old grass pasture, was probably due to

a) improper use of desiccants

b) improper ensiling procedures

c) parasitic diseases

d) overgrazing

e) improper tillage management

38. Which crop is best suited to a semiarid region because it matures before the dry season?

a) corn

b) barley

c) alfalfa

d) soybeans

e) cotton

39. What is the most likely reason for poor quality silage made from a mixture of alfalfa and orchardgrass plants?

a) overgrazing

b) poor cutting frequency

c) low carbohydrate percentage

d) low amounts of butyric acid

e) high amounts of lactic acid

40. Growing one crop, harvesting it, and then planting and harvesting a second crop on the same field is an example of

a) sole cropping

b) monocropping

c) sequential cropping

d) intercropping

e) relay cropping

41. Which of the following is not an objective in plant breeding?

a) increased resistance to lodging

b) greater yield stability

c) improved adaptability to harvesting

d) improved product quality

e) selection of phenotypic traits controlled by environment

42. Respiration

a) can only be greater than photosynthesis during the night

b) utilizes the products of photosynthesis

c) can only occur in a plant with a positive NAR

d) results in the uptake of water and carbon dioxide

e) is usually more detrimental in cooler than in warmer conditions

43. An example of a pulse crop is

a) sunflower

b) popcorn

c) cotton

d) peanuts

e) wheat

44. Horizontal stems growing above ground are called

a) suckers

b) rhizomes

c) stolons

d) haplocorms

e) tillers

45. Historically, farmers referred to non-grain dry matter as field "trash"; this term referred to

a) John Deere equipment

b) biological yield

c) garbage

d) insect refuse

e) crop residues

46. Higher relative humidities under cloudless conditions in July generally result in

a) decreased lipidation

b) increased respiration

c) increased evapotranspiration

d) decreased crop disease problems

e) increased photosynthesis

47. Traditionally, decrease insecticide use on farms resulted from?

a) bigger farm size

b) poor insecticide availability

c) greater use of no-till tillage systems

d) increased use of scouting fields

e) increased use of monocultures

48. A bag of wheat seed has a "fishy" smell. What disease would you suspect?

a) scald

b) covered smut

c) ergot

d) Fusarium kernel rot

e) purple stain

49. Early season rust diseases on _______planted oats is ________because the disease can overwhelm plants?

a) early; worse

b) late; worse

c) all of the above

d) none of the above

e) two of the above

50. Which of the following answers does not apply to the troposphere?

a) zone closest to earth

b) zone of cloud formation

c) warmed by earth's radiation

d) warmest part of atmosphere

e) most climatic variability

51. Using proper crop establishment procedures is particularly effective in minimizing a weed's competitive advantage of

a) growth adaptation

b) reproductive capacity

c) fast growth rates

d) resistance to injury

e) survival to stress environments

52. Some weeds secrete substances that restrict the growth of surrounding plants. These substances would be characterized as

a) dormant compounds

b) gibberellic compounds

c) biotic disease substances

d) allelopathic substances

e) anaerobic substances

53. Swathing would most likely be used to help harvest which crop that was infested with large numbers of mid-season weeds?

a) maize

b) wheat

c) grain sorghum

d) soybeans

e) potatoes

54. You live in Indiana and have just purchased some corn seed from a seed company. The seed is to be planted in a grain production field. The variety you purchase is most likely to be

a) a synthetic variety

b) a pure line variety

c) a backcross variety

d) an F1 hybrid variety

e) a clonal variety

55. The implement usually not thought of as a primary tillage implement is

a) chisel plow

b) disk harrow

c) disk chisel

d) lister/bedder

e) disk plow

56. The type of emergence of alfalfa is known as

a) polygeal

b) hypogeal

c) epigeal

d) hydrogeal

e) exogeal

57. A sample of corn was sent to a seed lab for analysis and the following was reported:

% pure seed = 72%

% other crop seed = 4%

% inert material = 14%

% germination = 80%

The %PLS for the corn seed would then be equal to

a) 72.0%

b) 57.6%

c) 60.8%

d) 68.8%

e) 80.0%

58. Most of the "junk" that falls to the ground while wrapping a bale of hay during baling is

a) dirt

b) foreign material

c) lignin

d) protein

e) lint

59. Continual annual infestations of a wide variety of weeds in a field is most likely a problem in

a) conventionally-fertilized soil

b) alluvial soils

c) wheat soils

d) crops for silage

e) soils with C horizons

60. A tillage management concept to control weeds is the

a) roller packer method

b) row zone and interrow zone in no-till systems

c) manipulation of planting dates

d) use of monoculture

e) integrated pest management method

61. Which of the following soybean seed lots would you select for planting seed?

a) 90% germination, 100% purity, 20% cracked seed coats

b) 90% germination, 2% weed seed

c) 89% germination, 100% purity, 0% cracked seed coats

d) 90% germination, 30% splits, 1% weed seeds

e) 90% germination, 90% purity, 1% cracked seed coats

62. Which crop would precede corn if you wanted to spend the least amount of money on N fertilizer?

a) corn

b) soybeans

c) sunflowers

d) red clover

e) alfalfa

63. Suppose a female corn plant (homozygous, recessive for white kernels) was crossed with a male corn plant (homozygous, dominant for yellow kernels) (Y = dominant, y = recessive). The genotype of the endosperm in the progeny (F1) would be

a) yY

b) yy

c) YY

d) yyY

e) yYY

64. Soybean cyst nematode is most likely to overcome resistance to

a) varieties with major gene resistance

b) pubescent varieties

c) high LAI varieties

d) C4 species

e) varieties that have polygenic resistance

65. The major portion of the living material in a cell is (are)

a) plastids

b) cell wall

c) mitochondria

d) cytoplasm

e) vacuole

66. If they test weight (lbs./bu.) requirements for soybeans were 56 for No.1, 54 for No.2, 52 for No.3, and 49 for No.4, what would the grade be for a load of soybeans that had a test weight of 48 lbs/bu?

a) No.1

b) No.2

c) No.3

d) No.4

e) sample grade

67. Which of the following terms relate to Maize Dwarf Mosaic pathogen?

a) single celled organism

b) mycelium

c) not cellular in structure

d) asexual reproduction

e) sexual reproduction

68. Nymphs are most likely found in what insect species?

a) alfalfa weevil

b) bean leaf beetle

c) armyworm

d) pea aphid

e) wireworm

69. Race 31 of Phytophthora Root Rot has been found in Iowa. What does this statement imply?

a) there are 31 known disease races

b) there are 31 different disease symptoms

c) race 31 is the most damaging race of the disease

d) there are 31 different strains of the Phytophthora fungus that can cause the disease

e) this disease has been a problem for at least 31 years

70. A weed species with a reproductive ratio of 1000 will produce how many weed seeds in a hectare at an infestation rate of 50 plants/0.5ha in one growing season?

a) 20

b) 50,000

c) 0.5 million

d) (100) to the 5th power

e) (1000) to the 10th power

71. In general, the crude protein percent of forages will be highest if harvested at the following stage

a) 1/10 bloom (late bud)

b) full seed

c) full bloom

d) half seed size

e) half bloom

72. The reason a contact herbicide may control Pennsylvania smartweed, but not swamp smartweed is most likely due to characteristics of the

a) leaves

b) soil

c) inflorescence

d) cuticle

e) stems

73. Which nutrient would best help plants resist corn borer damage?

a) N

b) P

c) K

d) Fe

e) Mn

74. If you had to plant forage sorghum by June 1 and had to wait until Sept 1 to harvest it, which variety would you want to plant for feeding cattle?

a) 50-day variety

b) 70-day variety

c) 90-day variety

d) 120-day variety

e) doesn't really matter

75. All field crop plants are classified the same through what level of the botanical system of classification?

a) class

b) division

c) order

d) family

e) genus

AGRONOMY 114 FINAL EXAM

Disclaimer: the answer key could have an unintentional mis-key

Item # ANSWER

1 5

2 5

3 1

4 5

5 1

6 4

7 2

8 1

9 2

10 2

11 1

12 1

13 5

14 4

15 4

16 1

17 3

18 5

19 1

20 1

21 4

22 2

23 2

24 4

25 4

26 3

27 1

28 1

29 2

30 5

31 4

32 2

33 2

34 1

35 4

36 1

37 4

38 2

39 3

40 3

41 5

42 2

43 4

44 3

45 5

46 5

47 4

48 2

49 2

50 4

51 3

52 4

53 2

54 4

55 2

56 3

57 2

58 4

59 2

60 2

61 3

62 5

63 4

64 1

65 4

66 5

67 3

68 4

69 4

70 3

71 1

72 5

73 3

74 4

75 2