Agronomy MCQ Questions and Answers for Practice

1. The standard test weight per bushel for soybean is

1. 60 pounds
2. 48 pounds
3. 52 pounds
4. 56 pounds

2. A common disease of wheat is leaf rust, which is caused by a fungus that does not survive over winter in Kansas. However, the leaf rust spores blow in from the Southern states each spring to infect our wheat crop. In this example, the wind is called the:

1. vector
2. pathogen
3. parasite
4. inoculum

3. A harvest concern with regard to moldy corn seed is the potential presence of toxic levels of:

1. vomitoxin
2. nitrate
3. Salmonella
4. aflatoxin

4. A new type of tillage tool being promoted for one time or infrequent use in no-till systems to incorporate some residue and break through surface compaction is currently being evaluated. This tool is called a:

1. plow
2. rotary hoe
3. tandem disk
4. vertical tillage tool

5. 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:

1. 50%
2. 10%
3. 20%
4. 30%

6. An important environmental concern related to pesticide use is:

1. all of the above are issues which could threaten the future of pesticide use
2. runoff of pesticides into streams and lakes
3. leaching of persistent chemicals or breakdown products into ground water
4. point-source pollution from spills or improper disposal

7. Because both oilseed and confectionary sunflowers grown in Kansas do not produce additional new leaves after they begin flowering, their growth habit is called:

1. indeterminate
2. determinate
3. monoecious
4. biennial

8. Broadcast application of dry urea fertilizer to an established field of tall fescue in early March is called:

1. sidedressing
2. banding
3. topdressing
4. fertigation

9. Cattle grazing older, established tall fescue pastures results in poor weight gains, poor body condition, fever, lameness, and in some cases a loss of hooves and tail tips. The likely cause is:

1. fescue toxicosis from a hallucinogenic compound from ergot sclerotia that replace the seed
2. prussic acid that accumulates in the new regrowth
3. nitrate that accumulates in the stems, especially when high rates of N fertilizer are used
4. fescue toxicosis from an alkaloid produced by an endophyte fungus living within plants

10. Corn reproductive growth stages start with silking (R1) and end with physiological maturity (R6). The descriptive terms for the other four reproductive stages, in sequential order from R2 through R5, is:

1. blister - milk - dough - dent
2. blister - milk - dent - dough
3. milk - dough - blister - dent
4. milk - blister - dough - dent

11. European corn borers cause damage to corn by

1. feeding in the stalks during the adult stage
2. feeding on the roots during the larval stage
3. feeding on the roots during the adult stage
4. feeding in the stalks during the larval stage

12. 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?

1. The crop is soybean and the Group 4 variety would start flowering first
2. The crop is corn and the Group 3 variety would start flowering first
3. The crop is soybean and the Group 3 variety would start flowering first
4. The crop is corn and the Group 4 variety would start flowering first

13. Most of the stored food energy used for germination in a corn seed is located in the:

1. pericarp
2. endosperm
3. cotyledon
4. coleoptile

14. Phosphorus from fertilizer or manure is most likely to be lost from crop fields, and thus may harm the environment, by:

1. all of the above are equally common ways phosphorus is lost from soils
2. runoff into surface water (contributing to eutrophication of lakes and streams)
3. leaching into groundwater (contaminating wells used for drinking water)
4. volatilization into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas (contributing to global warming)

15. Pigweed, velvetleaf, and giant ragweed are all problem weeds in row crops in Kansas that are classified as:

1. summer annual broadleaves
2. perennial broadleaves
3. winter annual grasses
4. summer annual grasses