Pest, Disease, and Weed Management
IPM in order
Integrated pest management is a sequence, not a product: prevent (right plant, right place, sanitation), monitor (scouting, sticky cards, pheromone traps), identify (the correct organism, not just the symptom), set a threshold, then treat - cultural, mechanical, biological, and finally chemical. Evaluate afterward. Most exam misses come from skipping identification: yellow leaves can be mites, overwatering, pH-induced chlorosis, or herbicide injury.
Pesticide law and stewardship
The label is the law under FIFRA. Know restricted-use status, PPE requirements, the reentry interval (REI), the preharvest interval (PHI), and drift and pollinator precautions. Rotate mode-of-action groups to slow resistance. Weeds are managed by life cycle: pre-emergent herbicides for annual seeds, post-emergent for emerged plants, selective versus nonselective products, and timing tied to growth stage and temperature.
Worked example - calibration
1/128 acre = 340 SF. Spray a test area and catch the output: if you collect 1 quart over 340 SF, then 1 qt × (43,560 ÷ 340) = 128 qt per acre = 32 gallons per acre. Compare to the label rate before you spray the block.
Traps
Spraying during bloom when pollinators forage; ignoring REI on a job where crews re-enter; repeated use of one mode of action; diagnosing from a single leaf.