AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II Page 1
NAME:
DIRECTIONS:
MARK THE ONE BEST ANSWER ON YOUR
ANSWER SHEET.
1.
A variety that anyone can sell if they meet legal seed
requirements is called
a) a parent variety
b) a common variety
c) a private variety
d) a protected variety
e) a graded variety
2.
If the evapotranspiration rate of a crop is 2 cm per day, the
crop rooting depth was 1 m, and the
soil held 5 cm of available
water per 33.3 cm of soil; how long
would it take the crop to
lower the water content of the soil to
wilting point if no rain
was received?
a) 3.0 days
b) 7.5 days
c) 15.2 days
d) 20.0 days
e) 50.0 days
3.
In the pedigree method of breeding self-pollinated species,
selection usually begins in the
a) F1 generation
b) F2 generation
c) F3 generation
d) F4 generation
e) F5 generation
4.
Which crop is most likely to be planted with a row crop planter
in a drill pattern?
a) wheat
b) alfalfa
c) orchardgrass
d) soybeans
e) birdsfoot trefoil
5.
Suppose the recommended planting rate is 12 lbs/A. Lot 1 seed
had 80% germination and 90% purity,
lot 2 seed had 90%
germination and 80% purity. Lot 1 seed averaged 150 mg/seed
and Lot 2 seed averaged 200
mg/seed. The planter
a) should be set to plant about 14
lbs/A pure live seed
b) should be set to plant about 16
lbs/A pure live seed
c) should be set to plant about 9
lbs/A pure live seed
d) should be set to plant more seed/A
of lot 1 than lot 2
e) will plant less seed/A of lot 2
than lot 1 seed
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 2
6.
This primary tillage implement is used mainly in areas with
limited rainfall.
a) sweep plow
b) powered rotary tiller
c) disk plow
d) moldboard plow
e) field cultivator
7.
Lime is added to an acid soil to make it more neutral.
Why do you want a soil that is near a
neutral pH?
a) plants will grow only in neutral pH
soil
b) more nutrients are available at a
neutral pH than
at any other pH
c) do not want a neutral pH
d) soil disease organisms do not grow
at a neutral pH
e) soil moisture conditions are
improved
8.
The result of selfing in crops is to
a) move the traits toward homozygosity
b) increase the number of
heterogeneous populations
c) reduce the amount of inbreeding
d) increase the amount of segregation
among the F6 traits
e) increase the amount of hybrid vigor
in offspring
9.
Soil erosion in Illinois would mostly likely be highest under
what rotation?
a) Corn, corn, corn.
b) Corn, soybeans, corn
c) Corn, oat, meadow
d) Corn, fallow, corn
e) Pasture, pasture, pasture
10.
If the reproductive ratio of a crop is 50 and you had only 1
bushel of breeder's seed, how many
bushel of certified seed
would be available for farmers if the
variety was increased
through seed certification without
duplicating any steps?
a) 50
b) 200
c) 2500
d) 125,000
e) 6,250,000
11.
The O horizon in soils is
a) just below the A horizon
b) just above the R horizon
c) made up of glacial material
d) a topmost layer in some soils
e) sometimes referred to as an E
horizon
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 3
12.
M&Ms is a popular candy in America.
The small, oval shaped
chocolate candies come in a variety of
colors. People
invariably have their own favorite
color and to some, certain
colored M&Ms give special powers
or insights to those who eat
them.
Thus, when an assortment of M&Ms are available, people
tend to pick their favorite color
resulting in unequal
distribution to everyone. To prevent this from happening, one
might use a concept similar to
a) male sterility
b) conventional tillage
c) photoperodism
d) the tetrazolium test
e) the boerner divider
13.
Seed is likely to be planted on a ridge in a
a) semi-arid area with sandy soil
b) semi-arid area with loam soil
c) humid area with clay loam soil
d) humid area with sandy soil
e) subhumid area with loam soil
14.
In a tetrazolium test, dark stained embryos indicate
a) healthy seed
b) non-living tissues of the seed
c) diseased seed
d) hard seeds
e) scarified seeds
15.
Some excellent remains of well-preserved dinosaurs have been
discovered in ancient, lakebeds in
South America. These
remains were likely embedded in
a) alluvial soils
b) lacustrine soils
c) loess soils
d) colluvial soils
e) upland soils
16.
Suppose your neighbor called and asked you to bring your
Case-IH tractor to the neighbor's
field to pull out the
neighbor's John Deere tractor, which
was stuck in the mud.
Slightly irritated because this was
the 5th time you had to do
this for the neighbor, you drove over
and found the tractor
axle-deep in mud in what likely spot?
a) area of heavy soil
b) area of light soil
c) area of sandy soil
d) on a hillside with the stuck
tractor facing down hill
(hint: although a possibility, this
is not the right answer)
e) area of high fertility
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 4
17.
Combines that are improperly adjusted often result in cracked
seedcoats and split beans. The quickest way to determine
seedcoat injury is by using
a) tetrazolium
b) clorox
c) purity analysis
d) cold test
e) grain grading procedures
18.
The major reason for summer fallowing is
a) to control diseases
b) to control erosion
c) to save soil moisture for the next crop
d) to control insects
e) to prepare the seedbed for the next
crop
19.
The diploid number of chromosomes in martianweed is 2X. What
will be the number of chromosomes in
the endosperm of this
new interplanetary introduction?
a) X b)X/2
c)X/3 d)2X e)3X
20.
If one would want to salvage what was once a good variety of
oats but now has succumbed to a
disease, one would most likely
use what breeding method?
a) development of F1 hybrid varieties
b) development of a synthetic variety
c) bulk selection method
d) pedigreed selection method
e) backcross selection method
21.
The water that the world's food crops depend on
a) covers about 70% of the earth's
surface
b) makes up about 20-30% of the total
earth's water
c) is too salty for human consumption
d) is more than the amount required
for animal and meat
production in the world
e) is increasing slightly in the last
100 years
22.
The following crop would have heterozygous plants in it
a) a soybean variety
b) an oats variety
c) a single cross hybrid corn variety
d) a wheat variety
e) an inbred corn line
23.
Moisture tension at which most crop plants reach the wilting
point is usually around
a) 10,000 atmospheres
b) 15 atmosphere
c) 1/3 atmosphere
d) 2 atmospheres
e) 31 atmospheres
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 5
24.
The total biomass of switchgrass varieties grown for renewable
fuel would contain the lowest total
amount of
a) Mn
b) Mg
c) K
d) N
e) Ca
25.
On which of the following crops would nitrogen fertilizer
generally have its greatest effect?
a) bromegrass
b) alfalfa
c) soybeans
d) birdsfoot trefoil
e) red clover
26.
Which of the following adverse soil conditions is most
difficult to remedy?
a) low fertility
b) coarse (sandy) texture
c) pH4
d) poor drainage
e) excessive erosion
27.
After gametogenesis, the female ovary will have produced how
many total haploid nuclei in the ovary
when the pistil is ready
for pollination? How many of these nuclei get fertilized by
the sperm nuclei?
a) 3, 3
b) 4, 1
c) 4, 3
d) 3, 1
e) 8, 3
28.
High salt levels in the soil profile
a) make vegetables tastier
b) reduce the amount of available
water
c) increase total water
d) decrease total water
e) occur more often in humid areas
29.
The phenotype of the F1 offspring from a cross, EE x ee, would be
a) mostly segregated
b) mostly homozygous
c) heterogeneous
d) homogeneous
e) haploid
30.
Which cell would likely have homologous chromosomes?
a) barley gamete cell
b) soybean egg cell
c) maize cotyledon cell
d) wheat sperm cell
e) homozygous locus cell
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 6
31.
In northern crop production areas, no-till tillage systems may
not be as popular as more intensive
tillage systems because of
a) fuel savings
b) weed control
c) insect control
d) delayed planting
e) subsoil compaction
32.
As a high school teacher you developed a new lab exhibit for
your students. You planted alfalfa, corn, and wheat at a
depth
of 1 inch. The likely order of emergence will be
a) corn, wheat, alfalfa
b) wheat, alfalfa, corn
c) corn, alfalfa, wheat
d) alfalfa, wheat, corn
e) alfalfa, corn, wheat
33.
In California alfalfa seed growers purchase or contract with
honeybee producers to pollinate their
seed fields. The alfalfa
varieties are primarily.
a) Fi hybrids
b) pure-line varieties
c) backcross varieties
d) introductions
e) synthetic varieties
34.
Ironically, nitrate contamination in fresh water is often lower
in watersheds with steep topography
than in watersheds with
flatter topography. This is most likely due to
a) soil type difference
b) % of row crop acres that are
no-tilled
c) type of cropping systems
d) type of waterways
e) amount of tiling in fields
35.
Farmers who sell their switchgrass seed a year after harvest
may get paid more because
a) the PLS will improve
b) the purity will improve
c) the germination percentage will
improve
d) switchgrass seeds are always scarce
and that drives prices up
e) a and c are correct
36.
What soil would have the deepest layer of black surface soil
under normal conditions?
a) a soil derived under trees with a
slope of 20%
b) a soil with a slope of 10%
c) a soil derived under trees with a
slope of 5%
d) a soil derived on a glacial till
with trees with a slope
of 1%
e) a soil derived on glacial till with
a slope of 6-7% and
grass vegetation
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 7
37.
Scarification of alfalfa seed will
a) prolong the life of the seed
b) insure the seed will imbibe water
c) permit deeper planting of the seed
d) result in a lower plant population
e) remove the light requirement for
germination
38.
U.S. No 3 quality barley seed refers to quality of barley for
a) planting seed
b) certification
c) legal seed
d) feed
e) public varieties
39.
In general, a higher soil organic matter would
a) increase the available moisture
capacity of our soils
b) decrease the available moisture
capacity
c) not change the available moisture capacity
d) decrease the hygroscopic moisture
e) increase the wilting point
40.
To create variability among two pure-lines to allow for
subsequent selection of offspring one
would use
a) hybridization
b) backcrossing
c) selfing
d) double fertilization
e) triple fusion
41.
Which plant factor would be maximized in mid-August in a
Midwest grain field that would also
correspond to maximum rates
of crop water use during the growing
season?
a) seed growth
b) photosynthesis
c) respiration
d) leaf area per unit land area
e) nitrogen uptake
42.
Which of the following pairs of statements is true for soil
compaction?
a) The wetter the soil the less
compaction.
b) The drier the soil the greater the
compaction.
c) The drier the soil the greater the
depth of compaction.
d) The wetter the soil the greater
force of compaction.
e) The wetter the soil the less width
of compaction.
43.
If a farmer with John Deere equipment produced a 200 bu/A corn
crop and received 20 cents more per
bushel than another farmer
who produced a 200 bu/A corn crop
using Case-IH equipment, then
the most probable reason is
differences in
a) test weight
b) germination
c) equipment used
d) commercial weight of the crop
e) soil type
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II A Page 8
44.
If the pure live seed percentage for a seed lot was 64% and the
germination percentage was 80%, then
the % other crop seed was
a) 24%
b) 51%
c) 64%
d) 80%
e) answer unknown
45.
The types of structural units in a soil do not affect
a) soil pore size
b) soil permeability to water and air
c) soil texture
d) water infiltration rate
e) water holding capacity
46. In most states the
following statement about seed
certification is true
a) certified seed can always be
produced from certified seed
b) certified and legal seed are
identical classifications
c) registered seed is produced from
certified seed
d) foundation seed is produced from
breeder seed
e) foundation seed is produced from
registered seed
47.
The limiting factor to germinating seeds in a lowland soil high
in clay after some heavy rains would
be
a) weed quality
b) oxygen
c) nitrogen
d) moisture
e) seed carbohydrate level
48.
"Available" water in the rooting zone should be highest in
a) sandy loam soil
b) loam soil
c) clay loam soil
d) clay soil
e) sand soil
49.
A light requirement for germination is advantageous for
a) long day plants
b) large seeded plant species
c) small seeded plant species
d) fall season crops
e) soybeans
50.
Iowa ranks in what place among all states in soil erosion?
a) number one worst state
b) top 3 worst states
c) top 5 worst states
d) top 10 worst states
e) average among all states
AGRONOMY 114 EXAM II
(Answers may not be 100% correct; check with instructor if questionable)
Item Answer
1 2
2 2
3 2
4 4
5 5
6 1
7 2
8 1
9 4
10 4
11 4
12 5
13 3
14 1
15 2
16 1
17 2
18 3
19 5
20 5
21 4
22 3
23 2
24 1
25 1
26 2
27 5
28 2
29 4
30 3
31 4
32 1
33 5
34 3
35 5
36 5
37 2
38 4
39 1
40 1
41 4
42 4
43 1
44 5
45 3
46 4
47 2
48 2
49 3
50 1