samplefinal-3

SAMPLE FINAL 3

1. Comment on the value of the following materials as components of a compost heap.

a. Sawdust, bark, and woodchips________________________________________

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b. Soil _______________________________________________________________

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c. Nitrogen fertilizers ______________________________________________________

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d. Wood ashes ___________________________________________________________

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e. Paper ________________________________________________________________

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(6)2. What is the problem involved with the responses or lack of responses of crops to the following practices of manuring of land?

a. A farmer applies manures at 20 tons per acre to the surface of land in the fall and plows the manures under in the following spring. In July, the farmer notes that the crop in the manured fields is severely nitrogen deficient.

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b. A farmer applies liquified chicken manure as a sidedressed application of nitrogen to his tomato crop. The next morning, the plants are wilted.

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(4)3. List four characteristics of a good green manure.

a. ____________________________________________________________________

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b._____________________________________________________________________

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c._____________________________________________________________________

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d._____________________________________________________________________

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(6)4. How does one determine when to incorporate the green manure into the ground? List three factors to consider.

a. ____________________________________________________________________

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b. ____________________________________________________________________

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c. ____________________________________________________________________

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(6)5. Comment on the following practices.

a. A farmer seeds a legume as a green manure and after observing the good growth of the legume decides to harvest the crop for hay.

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b. A farmer seeds a crop of buckwheat as a green manure crop, but the bloom on the crop is so pretty that the farmer decides to let the plants complete their blossoming before turning the crop under.

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c. A farmer seeds a crop of winter oats in the fall. The crop produces good top growth in the fall but is killed by freezing in the winter.

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(6)6. Explain how the following benefits are achieved by mulching of land.

a. Conservation of moisture.

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b. Control of weeds

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c. Warming of soil by clear plastic mulches.

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(6)7. What is the difference between root distribution of a crop in a mulched soil and root distribution of the crop in an unmulched soil?

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How does this distribution affect the management of the mulch? _______

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(6)8. Why is only about 3 to 20% of the phosphorus in chemical fertilizers available to a crop during the first season after the application of the fertilizer?

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(6)9. Why is it not advisable to use rock phosphate as a fertilizer if the pH of the soil is above 5.5?

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Why is it not advisable to apply bonemeal or rock phosphate to soils with pH below 5.5?

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(6)10. List two chemical processes through which the addition of organic matter increases the availability of phosphorus in the soil.

a.____________________________________________________________________

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b.____________________________________________________________________

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(6)11. List three factors of soil fertility that are correlated with soil texture.

a.____________________________________________________________________

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b.____________________________________________________________________

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c.____________________________________________________________________

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(4)12. Evaluate the following methods of weed control by commenting on the effectiveness and major weakness of each procedure.

a. Burning of fields.

Effectiveness_________________________________________________________

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Major weakness_______________________________________________________

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b. Intertillage of crops.

Effectiveness_________________________________________________________

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Major weakness________________________________________________________

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(6)13. If you were in charge of certification of growers to be organic farmers and gardeners, what would be your response to individuals who filed for certification and who asked to be able to continue the following practices. If you approve of the grower's request, give the rationale of accepting the practice as being organically sound. If you reject the request, outline a suitable alternative practice.

a. Use of household detergents as pesticides _________________________

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b. Use of potassium chloride a fertilizer______________________________________

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(5)14. Why is the carbon:nitrogen ratio of composted material generally narrower than that of the original material?

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(2)15. Why are soils more likely to remain cold in the spring if they are mulched with organic matter during the winter?

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(6)16. Comment on the truth of the following statements.

a. Sawdust is toxic to plants. _____________________________________

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b. The best protection of plants against injury from the winter often is achieved by mulching the ground with organic material after the ground has frozen.

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c. The deeper the mulch applied to land, the better the crop will grow.

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d. These apples are organically grown; they are from an abandoned orchard.

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e. Organic fertilizers are environmentally safe materials.

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f. Limestone and fertilizers should be mixed at least 12 inches into the soil to ensure that plant roots come in contact with abundant, concentrated amounts of nutrients.

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(8)17. Identify the principal plant nutrient supplied by the following materials.

a. Agricultural limestone___________________________________________

b. Dried blood______________________________________________________

c. Seaweed__________________________________________________________

d. Bonemeal_________________________________________________________

e. Seed meals_______________________________________________________

f. Wood ashes_______________________________________________________

g. Green sand_______________________________________________________

h. Soapstone________________________________________________________

(5)18. What is the limitation that generally prohibits the following materials from being classified as organic substances?

a. Superphosphate __________________________________________________

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b. Quicklime _______________________________________________________

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c. Urea ____________________________________________________________

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d. Sewage biosolids (sludge)______________________________________________

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