2015 AGRONOMY KANSAS FFA CDE
AGRONOMIC QUIZ
Contestant No.
Contestant Name____KEY_________________
Score________
WRITE ANSWERS ON BLANKS USING CAPITAL LETTERS – (4 points each)
C___ 1.
Barnyardgrass, large crabgrass, and green and yellow foxtail are problem weeds in Kansas crops.
All of them are classified as:
A) perennial grasses
B) winter annual grasses
C) summer annual grasses
D) summer annual broadleaves
E) winter annual broadleaves
D___ 2.
The wheat diseases leaf rust, stem rust, and stripe rust are all caused by:
A) nematodes
B) bacteria
C) viruses
D) fungi
E) weather
B___ 3.
When would be the best time to use herbicide to manage established curly dock, dandelion,
Canada thistle, and volunteer alfalfa in a no-till farming system?
A) Never – herbicides do not work on these weeds
B) In the fall
C) In the summer
D) In the spring
E) Immediately after a vertical tillage pass
A___ 4.
I am a “Roundup Ready” crop that produces high quality forage. I also fix my own nitrogen from
the atmosphere. I am _____.
A) alfalfa
B) sudangrass
C) red clover
D) silage corn
E) wheat
B___ 5.
Which of the following terms or acronyms found on a pesticide label defines the time that
workers must not enter the field after the pesticide has been applied?
A) EPA number
D___ 6.
B) REI
C) PPE
D) active ingredient
E) signal word
Fescue toxicity (also known as “fescue foot”) in livestock grazing tall fescue is caused by:
A) prussic acid B) nitrate C) nematodes D) endophyte fungus E) magnesium deficiency
B___ 7.
A six-inch thick furrow slice of soil weighs approximately _____.
A) 1,000,000 pounds
B) 2,000,000 pounds
C) 500 tons
D) 500,000 pounds
E) soil is too variable to estimate this
A___ 8.
The guaranteed analysis of UAN fertilizer is:
A) 28-0-0
B) 46-0-0
C) 82-0-0
D) 11-52-0
E) 18-46-0
C___ 9.
Application of liquid nitrogen solution fertilizer by mixing it into the irrigation water is called:
A) banding
E___ 10.
B) sidedress
C) fertigation
D) topdress
E) incorporation
A crop planted to protect the soil from erosion, add nitrogen to the soil (if a legume is used), and
“trap” nutrients to reduce losses during the time between two crop seasons is called a:
A) trap crop
B) intercrop
C) pulse crop
D) companion crop
E) cover crop
D___ 11.
How many seeds are in a bag of most commercial soybean seed sold in the United States?
A) 50,000
B) 80,000
C) 100,000
D) 140,000
E) none of the above, they are a standard weight and it varies depending upon the seed size
C___ 12.
A harvest concern with regard to corn seed infected with Aspergillus flavus ear rot disease is the
potential presence of toxic levels of:
A) nitrate
B) Salmonella
C) aflatoxin
D) vomitoxin
E) E. coli
D___ 13.
There is considerable controversy recently over the use of neonicotinoid insecticides and their
potential environmental impact. The primary concern is the thought that these insecticides may
be:
A. leaching into groundwater
B. running off into streams
C. volatilizing to produce greenhouse gasses
D. contributing to the decline in bee populations
E. contributing to the decline in the lesser prairie chicken
B___ 14.
If a farmer in Central Kansas planted both a Maturity Group 3 and a Maturity Group 4 variety on
the same date, which of the following crops did he plant, and what will be the most likely result?
A) The crop is corn and the Group 3 variety would start flowering first
B) The crop is soybean and the Group 3 variety would start flowering first
C) The crop is corn and the Group 4 variety would start flowering first
D) The crop is soybean and the Group 4 variety would start flowering first
E) The crop is soybean and they would both flower at the same time
A___ 15.
A horizontal, creeping stem growing below the soil surface that produces new shoots and roots at
the nodes, such as found in smooth bromegrass and johnsongrass, is called a:
A) rhizome
E___ 16.
B) stolon
C) tuber
D) bulb
E) hypocotyl
Weeds like field bindweed are not allowed in any quantity in seed for sale according to state law.
These legally regulated weeds are called:
A) resistant weeds
B) perennial weeds
C) common weeds
D) annual weeds
E) noxious weeds
C___ 17.
Which of the following tillage tools would be best to use for emergency wind erosion control?
A) rotary hoe
B) plow
C) ripper
D) disk
E) none of the above, tillage never helps to control wind erosion
B___ 18.
A major concern for Kansas wheat this spring is the rapid development of stripe rust disease.
This disease is caused by a fungal pathogen, and moves into Kansas from the south and spreads
by spores blown in the wind. It is favored by cool, wet weather conditions. Many popular wheat
varieties are susceptible to the disease. In this disease scenario, which of the following is
considered the “vector” of the disease?
A) the fungal pathogen
B) the wind
C) the cool temperature
D) the wet weather
E) the susceptible varieties
D___ 19.
A herbicide like "Roundup" that is taken up and translocated throughout the plant is called:
A) selective
B) non-selective
C) contact
D) systemic
E) residual
C___ 20.
Which of the following standard abbreviations for pesticide formulations indicate a liquid
product?
A) WP
B) DF
C) EC
D) G
E) WDG
B___ 21.
The part of the plant cell where photosynthesis occurs is the:
A) nucleus
B) chloroplast
C) mitochondria
D) cell wall
E) ribosome
B___ 22.
Which of the following is an advantage of sprinkler irrigation over furrow irrigation systems?
A) less evaporation loss with sprinkler
B) more uniform application of water with sprinkler
C) less energy required to pump and distribute water with sprinkler
D) lower equipment maintenance costs with sprinkler
E) all of the above are advantages of sprinkler over furrow irrigation systems
D___ 23.
In Kansas, freezing injury to winter wheat is most likely to occur:
A) during the tillering stage in late fall
B) during the dormant stage in the middle of winter
C) before the jointing stage in early spring
D) after the jointing stage through the flowering (anthesis) stage in the spring
E) after flowering during seed development
B___ 24.
The major acid which acts as the preserving agent in good quality sorghum or corn silage and
gives the silage its unique, sweet smell is:
A) propionic
B) lactic
C) acetic
D) butyric
E) prussic
D___ 25.
A replicated variety performance test gives the results shown to the right.
statement below.
A) Wildcat was better than all varieties
Variety
Wildcat
B) Cowboy was better than Husker
Cyclone
C) Cowboy was worse than Cyclone
Cowboy
D) Wildcat was better than all varieties except Cyclone
Husker
E) All varieties were the same
Select the correct
Yield bushel/acre
50
47
45
42
Average is 46 bushels/acre
L.S.D. is 4 bushel/acre
C___ 26.
If corn at the V4 stage was clipped off at ground level by an escaped cow, what will be the most
likely outcome?
A) An immediate insurance pay-out since the corn will likely die
B) The corn will produce a new mesocotyl and start over from below ground
C) The corn will grow back slowly from the original main stem
D) The corn will mature faster
E) The cow will become ill from prussic acid poisoning
D___ 27.
After which reproductive growth stage will be the proper time to harvest corn for silage?
A) R1
B) R2
C) R3
D) R5
E) R6
C___ 28.
According to NRCS guidelines, the minimum amount of crop residue which must remain on the
soil surface for a cropping system after planting to qualify as conservation tillage is:
A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 30%
D) 50%
E) 75%
E___ 29.
Sustainable cropping systems are generally characterized by:
A) legume-based rotations
B) use of integrated pest management (IPM)
C) cover crops and green manure crops
D) use of stubble mulch residue management to control erosion
E) all of the above could be common practices in sustainable cropping systems
D___ 30.
Which of the following practices will most likely cause a decrease in soil organic matter over
time? Assume no organic amendments are made to supplement the proposed practice.
A) No-till farming
B) Intensive cover cropping
C) Spraying high rates of glyphosate herbicide
D) Chisel plowing every summer
E) Putting land into the CRP program
AGRONOMIC CALCULATIONS
Two part questions are 6 points each. One part questions are 4 points each. Extra scratch paper is
provided on the back page. To receive full credit, show calculations and place answer in the box.
Round to the nearest tenth unless otherwise indicated.
Useful conversions: 43,560 ft2/acre, 2,000 lb/ton, 12 inches/foot, 5280 ft/mile, 3785 ml per gallon.
31.
A crop consultant is calibrating a planter for sunflowers. He finds an average of 25 seeds dropped
per 20 foot of row by one planter unit. The machine has 30-inch row spacing.
What is the seeding rate in seeds per acre?
32.
33.
21,780.0 seeds/ac
Your soil test recommends 200 pounds N per acre and 85 pounds P2O5 per acre for corn.
Fertilizers available are UAN (32-0-0) at $400/ton and MAP (11-52-0) at $750/ton.
a. How many pounds of MAP is needed per acre?
163.5 lbs MAP/ac
b. What is the total fertilizer cost per acre?
$175.10/ac
You wish to apply 1 inch of water to your field which is under a center pivot irrigation
system on a quarter section in western Kansas. Your well capacity is 900 gallons per
minute. There are 27,154 gallons per acre-inch.
How many hours will it take to complete a full
62.9 hours/field
circle and apply the 1 inch of water to the field?
(Hint: a quarter section center pivot covers 125 acres)
34.
Prior to harvest, a farmer wants to estimate the yield for her corn crop. Random counts in the
field result in an average of ten ears per eight feet of row on 30” rows. The ears average 18
rows around and 36 kernels long. Assume the corn has 1800 seeds per pound.
Estimate the yield in bushels per acre using
the standard weight per bushel for corn.
35.
You are calibrating a sprayer and you collect 400 ml of water in 15 seconds from an
individual nozzle. Nozzle spacing is 20 inches and the speed of travel is 5 miles per hour.
a. What is the nozzle delivery rate in gallons
per minute?
0.4 gal/min
b. What is the application rate in gallons per acre?
(you may use the shortcut formula)
25.1 gal/ac
GPA =
36.
140.0 bushels/ac
5940 x GPM
MPH x Nozzle Spacing in Inches
A farmer wants to spray Weed-B-Done 25 WDG (25% a.i. water dispersible granules) herbicide.
He has a 400 gal spray tank calibrated to spray at 20 gallons per acre (GPA).
a. If the label recommends 3 pounds Weed-B-Done 60.0 lbs WBD/ tank
per acre, how much should be added to one
tankful?
b. If we use 3 pounds of Weed-B-Done per acre
and the product costs $2 per pound of active
ingredient, how much does this treatment
cost per acre?
$1.50/ac