GAP GAP Pest & Disease Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary goal of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in a GAP-certified operation?
- Eliminate all pesticide use permanently
- Manage pests using the least-risk methods while minimizing environmental impact (Correct answer)
- Apply maximum-label pesticide rates at first sign of pests
- Rely exclusively on biological controls
Correct answer: Manage pests using the least-risk methods while minimizing environmental impact
IPM prioritizes a combination of cultural, biological, and chemical controls chosen for effectiveness and lowest environmental risk.
Question 2: Under GAP standards, when must a pesticide applicator consult the pesticide label?
- Only when applying a new product for the first time
- Before every application (Correct answer)
- Once per growing season
- Only when using restricted-use pesticides
Correct answer: Before every application
GAP requires consulting the label before every application because rates, intervals, and use conditions can vary by crop and pest.
Question 3: Which document must a GAP farm maintain to demonstrate pesticide applications were made correctly?
- Sales receipts from the supplier
- Pesticide application records including product, rate, date, and applicator (Correct answer)
- Annual crop yield summaries
- Soil pH logs
Correct answer: Pesticide application records including product, rate, date, and applicator
Pesticide application records are required to verify label compliance and support traceability during audits.
Question 4: What is the pre-harvest interval (PHI) for a pesticide?
- Time between planting and first pesticide application
- Minimum number of days between last pesticide application and harvest (Correct answer)
- Time required to re-enter a treated field safely
- Days needed to mix and prepare a pesticide solution
Correct answer: Minimum number of days between last pesticide application and harvest
The PHI ensures pesticide residues degrade to safe levels before the crop reaches consumers.
Question 5: A GAP operation detects aphid populations below the economic threshold. What is the recommended action?
- Apply a broad-spectrum insecticide immediately
- Monitor the population and withhold treatment (Correct answer)
- Remove all affected plants from the field
- Increase irrigation to wash off the aphids
Correct answer: Monitor the population and withhold treatment
When pest populations are below the economic threshold, continued monitoring without treatment is the IPM-compliant response.
Question 6: Which practice best reduces the risk of pesticide resistance developing in a GAP farm operation?
- Increasing pesticide concentration with each application
- Rotating pesticides with different modes of action (Correct answer)
- Applying the same effective product every season
- Avoiding all chemical controls
Correct answer: Rotating pesticides with different modes of action
Rotating products with different modes of action prevents pest populations from developing resistance to a single chemistry.
GAP GAP Pest & Disease Management 1
What is the primary goal of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in a GAP-certified operation?