Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) - Right of Way & Natural Areas

What is a pest?

An organism that damages or harms desirable plants, animals, products, or structures.

What is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management

What is the main difference between a "right-of-way" and "natural area"?

The main purpose of the land's use

Why are rights-of-way and natural areas discussed in the same pesticide applicator category?

They both deal with unwanted vegetation.

What determines if a given plant is a weed?

It is an unwanted plant that is interfering with the intended land use.

What are the two main goals of weed management?

Minimize weed competition with wanted plants & Minimize weed reproduction

Net-like leaf veins

dicot

Fibrous root system

monocot

Single seed leaf

monocot

tap root

dicot

parallel leaf veins

monocot

Two seed leaves

dicot

All grasses are monocots, but not all monocots are grasses.

True (ex: sedges)

Annual plants live for __ year(s)

one

Biennials live for __ year(s)

two

Perennials live for __ year(s)

three or more

What type of weed life cycle is most difficult to control?

Perennial

Canada thistle is easily controlled by mowing or tillage.

False

It's spring and you notice small, annual weeds sprouting and growing out of control along the roadside. What might you do?

Control the weeds while they're small

Pest control failure is most often caused by

incorrect pest identification

The first step of effective pest management

correct pest identification

Primary goal of pest management

keep pest populations from exceeding a tolerable level

Specific pests may or may not be named on a pesticide label. This occurs because

the risks of using that pesticide are associated with where and how the product is applied rather than the pest it targets

When deciding if pest management is necessary, consider the following:

• Control a pest only when it is causing or expected to cause more harm than is tolerable,

• Use a control strategy that will reduce the pest numbers to an acceptable level, and

• Select a control strategy that causes the least amount of harm to non-target organisms.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is

an ecological approach to pest management that combines all available necessary techniques into a unified program

The goal of IPM

to manage pest populations in a way that avoids economic damage and minimizes adverse side effects

There are at least five main benefits of using IPM:

• IPM helps preserve a balanced ecosystem.

• Pesticides can be ineffective.

• IPM can save money.

• IPM promotes a healthy environment.

• IPM helps maintain a good public image.

State and local laws require landowners to control

noxious weeds to prevent their spread and distribution

___ laws require landowners to control noxious weeds to prevent their spread and distribution

State and local

A right-of-way is

an area of land used (or adjacent to) areas of access, transportation or power

A natural area is

land being preserved or restored and managed for its natural or native features

In rights-of-way, unwanted vegetation can be a problem by:

• Obstructing sight lines (e.g., for drivers),

• Be a fire hazard (e.g., along railways),

• Attract wildlife where they can be a hazard (e.g., next to roads, and

• Cause structural damage.

In natural areas, unwanted vegetation is usually

invasive and/or nonnative plants growing in areas where we are trying to preserve or restore a natural landscape

Native plants can be weeds in natural areas

True

Commercial applicators are legally responsible for removing noxious weeds

False

Wisconsin’s designated noxious weeds

Canada thistle, field bindweed, and leafy spurge

Noxious weeds

the person that owns or controls the land where these weeds are found must cut or control such weeds so they don’t produce seeds

Nuisance weed examples

Purple loosestrife and multiflora rose

Nuisance weeds

Although the law does not require that these weeds be controlled, no one may sell, distribute, or cultivate them

State rule NR40

gives the DNR broader authority to control certain invasive species, including weeds, on private land

categorizes species as either “prohibited” or “restricted”

Prohibited species

cannot be transported (including importation), possessed, or transferred (including sale)

Restricted invasive species

can be possessed, but are excluded from transportation, transfer and introduction

cotyledons

The first leaves that emerge when a seed germinates

part of the embryo within the seed of a plant and forms what is called the “seed leaf” in contrast to the “true leaves” that grow later

Monocotyledons, or monocots

plants that have a single cotyledon (seed leaf), including true grasses and sedges.

This cotyledon stays below the soil surface during germination, so the first leaves you see above ground are the plant’s true leaves. In grasses, the growing point is often located at or just below the soil surface.

Grasses typically have:

• Narrow leaves with parallel veins

• A fibrous root system

• The ability to reproduce through seeds, stolons, or rhizomes

Grass-like monocots’ biology ___ grasses, so their management strategies are ___

differs from; different

Dicotyledons, or dicots

broadleaf plants that have two cotyledons (seed leaves).

These cotyledons are always positioned opposite each other on the stem. As the plant grows, the true leaves develop and may be arranged in opposite, alternate, or whorled patterns.

Broadleaf weeds, which are dicots, typically have:

• Broad leaves with net-like veins

• A taproot system

• A visible growing point at the tip of the shoot

• Most reproduce by seed, but some can also spread through vegetative buds or spreading roots.

complete their life cycle in less than 12 months and reproduce by seed

annual weeds

especially problematic in cultivated areas and disturbed sites, such as newly planted landscapes

annual weeds

prolific seed producers, making them difficult and costly to control

annual weeds

An annual weed is no longer a threat after the parent plant dies

False

Summer annuals

• Germinate in spring

• Flower and produce seed during summer

• Die in late summer or fall

• Overwinter as seeds

• Most problematic in spring-seeded crops

Winter annuals

• Germinate in fall

• Overwinter as low-growing plants

• Flower and produce seed in spring

• Die after seed production

• Especially troublesome in perennial ornamental plantings

Common annual weeds in Wisconsin

(A) common lambsquarters; (B) giant ragweed; (C) horseweed (also called marestail); (D) wild cucumber; (E) velvetleaf; and (F) foxtail, which is an annual grass

live for two growing seasons and reproduce by seed. In the first year, they germinate from seed in spring or summer and form a rosette (a low-growing cluster of leaves at the soil surface). They overwinter in this rosette stage. In the second year, they grow a flowering stalk, produce seed, and then die.

biennials

Common biennial weeds in Wisconsin

(A) wild parsnip; (B) common teasel; (C) burdock; (D) garlic mustard; and two views of wild carrot or Queen Anne’s lace: (E) close up of a young plant and (F) shows the flowers

plants that live for two or more years, often much longer. They can reproduce by seed (e.g., dandelion, dock, broadleaf plantain) or by vegetative structures (stolons, rhizomes, spreading roots, tubers, bulbs)

perennials

The above-ground parts of herbaceous ___ die back in winter. The plant survives through underground structures, which store energy and allow regrowth in spring.

perennials

flower and produce seed each year after their first growing season

perennials

Common perennial weeds in Wisconsin

(A) foliage of Canada thistle; (B) Canada thistle flowers; (C) quackgrass; and (D) hemp dogbane. (E) Shows the woody perennial buckthorn as it greens up early in the spring and shades out native wildflowers and (F) shows a close up of the buckthorn leaves

Also curly dock, leafy spurge, phragmites, and smooth sumac

Annual weeds are easiest to control

when they are young and small, before they flower and set seed. Many pesticide labels site an optimum size of 4 inches or smaller

To effectively kill annuals

you must destroy the entire shoot

Tillage, herbicide, and mowing (if seed production is reduced) are some management strategies for

annuals and biennials

Biennial weeds are easiest to control

during the rosette stage in the first year, when the plant is still low to the ground.

In the second year, you should control it before it flowers

To effectively kill biennials, you must

destroy the entire shoot

most persistent and difficult to control because they can regrow year after year from underground parts and often spread aggressively through seed and vegetative reproduction

perennial weeds

difficult to eliminate because they store energy in underground structures like roots, rhizomes, tubers, or bulbs. Simply removing or killing the top-growth once is usually not enough—the plant will regrow using its stored energy

perennial weeds

Repeatedly cutting or destroying new shoots and systemic herbicides are some management strategies for

perennial weeds

most effective way to control perennials

target and destroy their underground structures.

This can be done by repeated tillage to break up and expose underground structures or using systemic herbicides that translocate through the plant and kill the entire vegetative system

Applications of systemic herbicides are most effective in the __ when sugar flows in the plant to the underground storage structures

fall

A pesticide is chemical that only kills a certain pest. 

False

In the manual, we group pesticides by EPA pesticide group into three broad categories. Which of the following are those categories?

Conventional, Antimicrobial, and Biopesticides

The common name of a pesticide is also the same as the product's active ingredient.

True

The pesticide formulation is the combination of __ and __

Active ingredient and Inert ingredient

Identify the Trade Name based on the following label.

Tempo Ultra WP

Identify the Common Name based on the following label. 

B-Cyfluthrin

Identify the Chemical Name based on the following label. 

cyano(4-fluoro-3-pheno... )

Pesticides from different manufacturers can have the same common name.

True

A pesticide is

any substance used to directly control pest populations or to prevent or reduce pest damage

Not all pesticides actually kill the target pest; some may only inhibit its growth, repel it, or reduce its capacity to reproduce.

True

synthetic or manufactured chemicals other than antimicrobial or biopesticides

conventional pesticides

the most commonly used chemicals for pest control and include products that directly kill a pest as well as attractants, repellents, plant-growth regulators, defoliants, and more

conventional pesticides

pesticides used to destroy or suppress the growth of harmful microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi) on inanimate objects and surfaces

antimicrobial pesticides

Pesticides, like fungicides, used in right of way and landscape settings where applications are made on living materials are not part of this category

antimicrobial pesticides

pesticides made from natural materials such as plants, bacteria, fungi, certain minerals, or other sources.

For example, using an insect toxin or disease to control another insect

biopesticides

pesticides that the EPA has determined might cause unreasonable harm to human health and/or the environment. Because of these qualities, only certified applicators can purchase, mix, load, or apply

Restricted-use pesticides (RUPs)

Most pesticides fall into this category. These pesticides have been registered and had label approval by the EPA. These are pesticides that don't have as much risk to humans or the environment.

Under federal law, their use is not restricted to only certified applicators, but certain state laws may supersede federal laws and require certification to use these products.

Unclassified or General Use Pesticides

Because EPA has determined that the ingredients in certain products pose little to no risk to human health or the environment, EPA has exempted them from the registration process.

People do not need to be certified to use these products. However, individual states can require registration of these products through them.

Minimum-Risk Pesticides

Selectivity refers to

how broad, or narrow, a range of pests a particular chemical will control

useful when several different pests are a problem.

Fumigants, for example. They control a wide variety of pests including fungi, insects, weeds, nematodes, and more. Some __ herbicides (e.g., glyphosate) control most plant species if a sufficient dose is used.

broad-spectrum pesticides

control only a few, usually related, pests without harming others.

For example, certain herbicides control broadleaf weeds while not harming grasses. Sometimes ___ pesticides will only control a particular life stage of a pest

narrow-spectrum (or selective) pesticides

Persistence, or residual activity

how long a pesticide remains active to control pests

Short-term or non-residual pesticides

break down into non-toxic by-products almost immediately

The longer a pesticide stays in its active form

the longer it has to move off the target site and contaminate the environment, get into people and pets, and harm nontarget organisms.

Long lasting pesticides can lead to

pesticide resistance because they apply effective selection pressure on the target pest

The component in the pesticide product that has pesticidal activity

the active ingredient

Pesticide products may contain more than one active ingredient.

True

Different products that contain the same active ingredient(s)

may be labeled for different uses

one or more specific names given to each commercial formulation of a particular active ingredient.

Appears in large letters at the top of the label. This is what the manufacturer decided to call the product

trade name