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These 10 free MT-PEST questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Montana Commercial Pesticide Applicator Core Exam blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
An insecticide registered in Montana lists ornamental turf as a use site but does not name sod webworms. Its labeling neither limits use to named pests nor prohibits this pest. A qualified commercial applicator proposes a sod webworm treatment that meets the turf directions and all other use requirements. How does FIFRA treat this proposed use?
Correct answer: B - The applicator may treat sod webworms under the unlisted-pest provision.
An agricultural field's restricted-entry interval has ended, its warning signs have been removed, and no other entry restriction applies. Three days remain in the pesticide's preharvest interval. The grower wants an employee to scout the crop today and a harvest crew to pick it tomorrow. Which statement correctly applies these intervals?
Correct answer: D - Allow scouting today, but postpone harvest until the preharvest interval has elapsed.
Acute-toxicity testing gives these LD50 values: Formulation P, oral 80 mg/kg and dermal 1,200 mg/kg; Formulation Q, oral 800 mg/kg and dermal 300 mg/kg. Within each exposure route, the test species and conditions are comparable. What do the results establish?
Correct answer: D - P is more acutely toxic orally; Q is more acutely toxic dermally.
While mixing a liquid pesticide, a handler splashes concentrate into one eye. The handler is alert, wears a contact lens in that eye, and has an eyewash within reach. The label directs gentle water rinsing without a special exception. A coworker is calling Poison Control. Which rinsing sequence should the handler follow?
Correct answer: A - Begin rinsing, remove the lens after 5 minutes, and continue to 15-20 minutes total.
Before a dawn application, shielded air thermometers over an open field read 52 degrees F at 1 foot above ground and 58 degrees F at 10 feet. Smoke spreads across the field in a thin horizontal layer instead of dispersing upward. Wind speed meets the label, which prohibits spraying during an inversion. Which assessment explains the observations?
Correct answer: C - A temperature inversion is restricting vertical mixing and allowing lateral movement.
Following a herbicide application, leaf injury develops on several unrelated plant species in narrow, parallel bands. The bands coincide with overlaps between adjacent spray passes; plants of the same species between the bands remain healthy. Which explanation should lead the diagnostic investigation?
Correct answer: C - Excess herbicide exposure where spray passes overlapped.
An insecticide treatment leaves more survivors than expected. Which follow-up finding most strongly supports inherited resistance rather than a problem with application timing or delivery?
Correct answer: B - Survivors' offspring tolerate a dose lethal to a susceptible population of the same species under matched conditions.
A clean-water calibration checks six identical boom nozzles for one minute each at a steady 40 psi. Five deliver 0.39-0.41 gallon apiece. The sixth delivers 0.24 gallon with a narrow, irregular pattern. New nozzles of this model are rated at 0.40 gallon per minute at 40 psi. The technician should first:
Correct answer: A - Depressurize, clean the sixth tip with a soft brush, and retest its output.
A 24-acre field has rows 36 inches apart. The planned treatment covers a 12-inch band centered on each row, leaving the spaces between bands untreated. The label permits band application at 2 pints of product per treated acre. Which treated-area and product-quantity entries belong on the job worksheet?
Correct answer: B - 8 treated acres; 16 pints of product for the job.
A Montana commercial applicator's record for an authorized two-product tank mixture lists each product's company, trade name, and EPA registration number. The only rate entry is '400 gallons of finished spray applied to 40 acres: 10 gallons per acre.' All other required information is present. What is missing from this record?
Correct answer: D - Each formulated product's actual rate per acre, recorded separately from finished-spray volume.
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