CATS Southwest Pest and Disease 4

Question 1

Verticillium wilt is a common vascular disease in Albuquerque's urban trees. Which tree genus is considered highly resistant and a safe planting choice in infested soils?

Accepted Answer

Gleditsia (honeylocust)

Answer

Gleditsia triacanthos (honeylocust) is among the trees considered highly resistant to Verticillium dahliae and is a suitable choice for infested sites.

Question 2

A southwestern arborist finds sooty mold coating the leaves and branches of a Chinese elm. The primary cause of sooty mold in this scenario is:

Accepted Answer

Honeydew excreted by sap-sucking insects such as aphids or scales

Answer

Sooty mold grows on honeydew — the sugary waste excreted by phloem-feeding insects like aphids, scales, and whiteflies — not on the plant tissue itself.

Question 3

The presence of J-shaped galleries under the bark of a dying ponderosa pine, with frass packed in the gallery, is diagnostic of:

Accepted Answer

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae)

Answer

Mountain pine beetle produces a characteristic J- or S-shaped egg gallery under the bark that is packed tightly with boring dust (frass).

Question 4

Which disease causes a white, thread-like mycelial fan between the bark and wood at the root collar of oaks and other trees in the Southwest?

Accepted Answer

Armillaria root disease (oak root fungus)

Answer

Armillaria mellea produces distinctive white mycelial fans (plaques) between bark and sapwood at the root collar, along with black rhizomorphs in soil.

Question 5

An arborist in the Albuquerque bosque suspects bronze birch borer activity in a river birch. The most diagnostic sign would be:

Accepted Answer

Serpentine galleries under bark and D-shaped exit holes in the bark

Answer

Bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius) creates winding serpentine galleries under bark and leaves characteristic D-shaped adult emergence holes.

(CATS) Certified Arborist Tree Service of Albuquerque Practice Test

(CATS) Certified Arborist Tree Service of Albuquerque Practice Test

CATS Southwest Pest and Disease 4