Resistance Management and Professional Conduct
This domain tests resistance management and professional conduct. The exam expects mode-of-action rotation, full-label rates, integrated tactics, and honest, competent practice.
Core rules
- Rotate modes of action using IRAC, FRAC, or HRAC groups. Do not count two products with the same group as a rotation.
- Use the full label rate and correct timing; sub-lethal rates select resistant individuals. Avoid unnecessary applications.
- Integrate cultural, biological, and chemical controls; conserve refuges and beneficials. Monitor for failure and report suspected resistance.
- Professional conduct means following the label and law, disclosing conflicts, keeping competence current, and reporting spills, poisoning, and environmental harm.
Worked example
Diamondback moth in cabbage is no longer controlled by repeated pyrethroid sprays. The reasoned response is not another pyrethroid or a higher rate. Rotate to a different IRAC group, such as Bacillus thuringiensis (11A) or spinosad (5), and integrate scouting and crop hygiene. The reasoning is that repeated Group 3A use selects resistant moths; a different mode of action breaks the selection pressure.
Traps
Tank-mixing products from the same group; increasing dose after failure; spraying on a calendar; and hiding a spill or a poisoning incident.