New York Pesticide Exam Practice Questions: Pests, Formulations, Equipment and Application (2026)

Pests, IPM, formulations and resistance

Pesticides are named for their targets: herbicides control weeds, insecticides control insects, fungicides control fungi, rodenticides control rodents and nematicides control nematodes, and plant regulators, defoliants and desiccants are regulated as pesticides too, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(5)(i). Before any of them is used, integrated pest management asks whether a pesticide is needed at all: IPM combines biological, cultural, mechanical and chemical methods, relies on monitoring, and acts only when pest numbers justify treatment, using pesticides as one tool rather than the only tool, per FIFRA section 11(c). The formulation, the active ingredient combined with other materials into a usable product, determines how you mix, what equipment you need and how much exposure you accept, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(5)(ii). An emulsifiable concentrate mixes with water into a milky spray but can be more readily absorbed through the skin; a wettable powder forms a suspension whose particles settle, so it needs continuous agitation; dusts are very fine and drift easily, while granules are larger, heavier particles that resist drift and suit soil application; baits place a small amount of active ingredient in food so only the target pest reaches it. Mixing two products raises compatibility: when in doubt, confirm the labels allow the mixture and run a small jar test, watching for separation, clumping or settling, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(5)(iii). And because a few individuals can naturally survive any treatment, repeated use of one mode of action breeds resistance; rotating among pesticides that kill the pest in different ways slows it, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(5)(v).

Equipment, calibration and choosing the method

Calibration is defined in 40 CFR 171.3 as the measurement of the output of application equipment and its adjustment to establish a specific rate of dispersal, and where applicable the droplet or particle size and an equalized dispersal pattern. Output changes as nozzles and metering parts wear and as pressure, formulation or carrier changes, so equipment is calibrated before application and rechecked regularly, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(6)(ii). The stakes run both ways: applying too much wastes product, raises costs, can leave illegal residues and can injure the crop and the environment, while applying too little gives poor control and can encourage resistance. Equipment is matched to the job: hand-held and backpack sprayers suit spot treatments but have low output; a boom sprayer treats broad, low-growing areas such as fields and turf in one pass; an air-blast sprayer fans spray up into trees but drifts more; granular spreaders and dusters apply dry formulations that spray nozzles cannot. Method choice follows the pest: broadcast treats the whole area, band treats strips, spot treatment hits small infested patches, foliar targets leaves and stems, and soil application reaches pests in the ground, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(7)(i). Some methods are so hazardous they need their own certification: use of a fumigant, aerial application, sodium cyanide or sodium fluoroacetate requires additional certification beyond the core and base category, per 40 CFR 171.103(c)(7)(ii).