2011 District Nursery Landscape General Knowledge Exam
01. What do monocot plants have that make them different from dicot plants?
a. Netted veins
b. Seed leaves
c. Vascular cambium
d. Parallel veins
02. Which of the following list the pesticide label signal words in order from least to most toxic?
a. Caution, Danger, Warning
b. Danger, Caution, Warning
c. Caution, Warning, Danger
d. Warning, Caution, Danger
03. The best way to control a cool season annual, broadleaf weed would be to
a. apply a post-emergence herbicide in mid summer.
b. apply a pre-emergence herbicide in April.
c. apply a pre-emergence herbicide in September
d. apply a post-emergence herbicide in November
04. Which of the following is an example of a cool season turfgrass?
a. Bermudagrass
b. Zoysia
c. St. Augustine Grass
d. None of the above
05. The correct way to write the name for Red Sunset red maple is
a. Acer Rubrum Red Sunset
b. Acer rubrum ‘Red Sunset’
c. Acer rubrum “Red Sunset”
d. None of the above
06. How many pounds of 20-6-12 fertilizer should be applied to a 200 by 200 foot lawn to give 2 pound of actual
nitrogen per 1000 square feet?
a.
b.
c.
d.
400 pounds
650 pounds
80 pounds
800 pounds
07. In the previous example, how many pounds of phosphorus (P2O5) would be applied to the lawn area to get the
desired rate of N?
a. 39 pounds
b. 48 pounds
c. 5 pounds
d. 24 pounds
08. Which of the following would be the least shade tolerant ground cover?
a. ‘Blue Rug’ Juniper
b. Pachysandra
c. Ajuga
d. Wintercreeper
09. The best pruning approach to re-invigorate an old Forsythia shrub to improve its flower display is
a. trimming
b. shearing
c. thinning
d. heading
10. A bacterial disease affecting plants in the rose family is:
a. black spot
b. anthracnose
c. fire blight
d. rust
11. An example of phototropism is
a. flowering of a plant in response to long day conditions.
b. faster growth of cells on the shaded side of a plant stem leading to bending.
c. faster growth of cells on the lighted side of a plant stem leading to bending.
d. upward bending of shoot tips when a plant is placed in the horizontal position.
12. Which of the following is a cool season annual broadleaf weed?
a. henbit
b. field bindweed
c. lambsquarters
d. dandelion
13. Increase in stem length of a dicot plant occurs mostly as a result of
a. expansion of cells produced by the intercalary meristem.
b. expansion of cells produced by the apical meristem.
c. production of vascular bundles by the cambium.
d. expansion of xylem cells produced by the cambium.
14. Approximately how many trees can be planted in a nursery block 210 x 420’ if they are planted
8 feet apart in rows which are 10 feet apart and with two 10 foot wide roads within the block running
lengthwise (the 420 foot direction).
a. 1100
b. 800
c. 1000
d. 1600
15. What would be the texture of a soil with 30% clay, 50%
sand and 20% silt?
a.
b.
c.
d.
clay loam
sandy clay loam
loam
silty clay loam
16. If it takes 0.62 gallons of water to apply one inch to one ft2 of
lawn, about
how long would it take to apply two (2) inches using a sprinkler covering a
20 foot circle that delivers 5 gallons per minute?
a. 45 minutes
b. 1 hr and 15 minutes
c. 1 hr and 45 minutes
d. 2 hrs
17. The most damaging pest of the tree that produces Missouri’s state flower is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Powdery Mildew
Rust
Black Spot
Antrhracnose
18. Which of the following is the least expensive source of nitrogen?
a. a 50 pound bag of Milorganite (6-2-0) at $9.55 per bag
b. a 50 pound bag of 12-22-6 at $15.50 per bag
c. a 50 pound bag of 22-4-11 at $15.40 per bag
d. a 50 pound bag of 24-4-12 at $19.70 per bag
19. Which of the following is least likely to have its flowers injured by a freeze in spring.
a. Nova Zembla rhododendron
b. Weigela
c. Lilac
d. Star Magnolia
20. A soil borne bacterial disease that attacks fruit trees, roses and Euonymus is
a.
b.
c.
d.
phytophthora
fire blight
crown gall
verticillium
21. If a plant with an original price of $29.95 is sold at 30% off and the sales tax is 6%, what should the
cashier charge for it?
a. $24.24
b. $20.97
c. $27.40
d. $22.22
22. The term used to describe the flowering of a plant in response to short day conditions is
a.
b.
c.
d.
plagiotropism
narcoperiodism
photoperiodism
helioperiodism
23. Dutch Elm Disease, Oak wilt and Verticillium wilt are all examples of
a. bacterial root rot diseases
b. fungal diseases affecting the vascular system
c. bacterial diseases affecting the vascular system
d. fungal root rot diseases
24. Increase in the trunk diameter of a tree occurs as a result of division and expansion of cells produced
by the:
a. the vascular cambium
b. the apical meristem
c. the cork cambium
d. the intercallary meristem
25. Which of the following would be the best choice as a seeding date for establishment of a
bermudagrass athletic field?
a. March 15
b. May 10
c. August 15
d. September 10
26. The best choice for a time to prune a deciduous shrub such as crape myrtle that blooms in late
summer would be
a.
b.
c.
d.
September
April
June
August
27. Prairiefire, Profusion and Robinson are all disease resistant cultivars of:
a. Spirea
b. Red Maple
c. Crabapple
d. Hydrangea
28. Which of the following would be the least shade tolerant turfgrass?
a. Bermudagrass
b. Fine fescue
c. Tall Fescue
d. Kentucky Bluegrass
29. If the desired seeding rate for a grass is 6 pounds per 1000 ft2, how many 50 pound bags of seed
would be required to seed a field measuring 300 by 150 feet?
a. 6 bags
b. 8 bags
c. 4 bags
d. 10 bags
30. The pH of a soil is a measure of
a. the water holding capacity of the soil.
b. the ability of the soil to hold positively charged mineral ions.
c. the ability of the soil to hold negatively charged mineral ions.
d. the content of hydrogen ions (H+)
31. The term describing the shape of the leaf in this diagram is
a. pinnately compound
b. palmately compound
c. bi-pinnately compound
d. trifoliate
32. A solubridge (conductivity meter) reading of 4.5 mmho for a potting mix indicates that
a. there is too much nitrogen in the soil.
b. the salt level of the soil is in the desirable range.
c. the soil needs to be limed.
d. the salt level of the soil is too high for most plants.
33. The LD50 of an insecticide indicates
a. the time required for 50% of the chemical to decompose after spraying.
b. the quantity required to kill 50% of insects treated.
c. the quantity required to be lethal to 50% of mammals treated..
d. the time after spraying when 50% of insects will be killed if they eat treated foliage.
34. The water in a soil that is available for uptake by plant roots is
a. gravitational water
b. water held in macropores
c. water held in capillary pores
d. none of the above
35. The planting hole for a Balled and Burlapped (B&B) tree should be
a. 1.5 times as deep and 2 times as wide as the soil ball.
b. 6 inches deeper and 6 inches wider than the ball.
c. 18 inches deep and 2.5 feet in diameter.
d. the depth of the ball and twice the ball diameter.
36. Which of the following is an example of a warm season annual broadleaf weed?
a. pigweed
b. henbit
c. field bindweed
d. chickweed
37. The soil ball on a shade tree with a stem caliper of 2 inches should be about
a. 28 inches in diameter
b. 24 inches in diameter
c. 20 inches in diameter
d. 30 inches in diameter
38. The term “dioecious” means
a. male and female flowers are found on the same individual plant.
b. male and female flowers are found on different individual plants.
c. male and female flower parts are found in the same flower.
d. male and female flowers are present on the same branch.
39. Which of the following has flat needles that are individually attached to the stem?
a. a Fir
b. a Spruce
c. a Juniper
d. a Pine
40. Which of the following is the correct series of classifications for grading the height of deciduous or
evergreen shrubs?
a. 6-12", 12-18", 1 ½ -2", 2-2½'
b. 6-12", 12-18", 18-24", 24-30"
c. 6-12", 12-18", 18-24", 2-2½'
d. 6-9", 9-12", 12-15", 15-18"
41. A plant that can be pruned severely in February and will still bloom the same season is:
a. Lilac
b. Forsythia
c. Hybrid tea rose
d. Star magnolia
42. Which species of pine is highly susceptible to a disease caused by a nematode?
a. Scotch pine
b. white pine
c. Austrian pine
d. mugo pine
43. Turf should be mowed often enough so that
a. no more than 2/3 of the grass blade is removed.
b. no more than ½ of the grass blade is removed.
c. no more than 1/3 of the grass blade is removed.
d. no more than 1/8 of the grass blade is removed.
44. A bank with a slope of 14%,
a. has a rise of 1 foot for every 6 feet of run (horizontal distance).
b. has a rise of 1 foot for every 5 feet of run.
c. has a rise of 1 feet for every 7 foot of run.
d. has a rise of 1 feet for every 8 foot of run.
45. If a turfgrass is able to absorb 0.2 inches of water per hour without runoff and a sprinkler system
that applies water at about 1 inch per hour is operated continuously for 1 hour, approximately what
percentage of the irrigation applied will be lost to run off?
a. 80%
b. 75%
c. 50%
d. 20%
46. In the previous example (question 45), about how many gallons of water would be wasted to runoff
from 1000 ft2 of irrigated area if one inch of irrigation is equivalent to 0.62 gallons per square foot.
a.
b.
c.
d.
124
310
465
500
47. At which of the following soil pH values would iron be least available to plant roots.
a. 8.5
b. 7.2
c. 6.2
d. 4.5
48. The physical properties of plants that are most important as visual elements in a landscape design
are:
a. size, scale and line.
b. form, texture and color.
c. form, scale and balance
d. symmetry, color and form
49. Deciduous azaleas are generally considered more reliably hardy in northern Missouri than most
evergreen azaleas. Which of the following is an example of a deciduous azalea?
a. Catawba, such as ‘Nova Zembla’
b. Girard hybrid such as ‘Girard Rose’
c. Lights series such as ‘Mandarin Lights’
d. ‘P.J.M’ hybrids
50. When describing a soil, the term “structure” refers to :
a. the relative amounts of sand, silt and clay.
b. the distribution of particle sizes.
c. the size and arrangement of pores in the soil.
d. the amount of water and minerals in the soil.