December 14, 2019

Canola Watch 2019 CCA/CCSC exam

Welcome to the Canola Watch 2019 exam. With a pass (70% or better), you will earn 6 Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) CEUs under the following categories:

Nutrient Management: 0.5
Soil & Water Management: 0.5
Integrated Pest Management: 2.5
Crop Management: 2.5

A pass will also qualify for 6 Certified Crop Science Consultant (CCSC) credits under the following categories:

Integrated Pest Management: 3
Crop Management: 3

For 2019 credits: Pass in December 2019.

For 2020 credits: Write and pass the exam in January 2020.

(Important: The exam period closes January 31 at midnight CDT. Those who write and pass after that time will not be eligible for credits.)
Repeat attempts are allowed. Canola Watch will submit names for all who pass to the respective CCA or CCSC organizations.

When writing this self-study exam, note that all answers can be found in Canola Watch content from 2019. To work through Canola Watch articles for 2019, go to the “issue archive” under the Tools & Resources tab at www.canolawatch.org. Click the “+” symbol beside 2019 to find each month, then click the “+” by the month to find each issue. Or, for a quicker option, start with this URL for issue 1 of 2019: https://www.canolawatch.org/category/2019issue-1/. To go to the next issue, change the “1” to a “2” in the URL, then click refresh. And so on.

Click “Submit” when finished. NOTE: The "Save" function, if present at the bottom, may not be reliable. To assure best results, set aside enough time to complete the exam without shutting down the computer. You may also want to jot down your answers as you go in case they need to be re-entered.

For questions or additional information on this exam, please contact Jay Whetter at 807-468-4006 or whetterj@canolacouncil.org.

1. Full name: (REQUIRED)

2. CCA number: (Leave blank if not applicable.)

3. CCSC number: (Leave blank if not applicable.)

4. Email address: (REQUIRED)

5. Phone number:

6. What region best describes your work territory? (REQUIRED)
7. START OF EXAM An article posted in February 2019 listed factors that influence herbicide carryover. Which does the article say is the most important factor?
8. "Secondary dormancy” explains the long persistence of canola seed in the soil – making volunteer canola a major weed. Interestingly, a February article asks: “Does this same dormancy explain low emergence rates for seeded canola?” In answering the question, the article says ___ per cent of hybrid canola seeds planted in the spring could potentially go dormant.
9. A March article called “20 agronomy tips to improve sustainability” pulled information from the Canola Digest Science Edition 2018 to list management practices that can increase profits while improving pest management, fertilizer and harvest decisions. One tip is to “Keep equipment clean”. How many soil-borne threats are listed with that tip?
10. A March article on soil health indicators is based on a Canola Watch podcast with University of Manitoba soil scientist David Lobb. Lobb describes two key soil health indicators that farmers can “easily track”. What are they?
11. Canola Watch posted an article with some details on setting up a biobed, which can remove pesticide residue from the water used to rinse sprayers. A biobed keeps pesticide residue from running into groundwater and streams. The article says most pesticides are reduced by 98 to 99 per cent in a biobed, but names one exception. What is it?
12. The April 4 quiz had this question: The new TruFlex trait for Roundup Ready canola expands the in-crop spray window for glyphosate to _____________ and increases the approved in-crop application rates.
13. The May 8 quiz had this question: Which of the following is NOT an integrated weed management method?
14. A May article lists ways to increase canola seed survival rates. One is to seed into warmer soils. Fill in the blank: Soil temperatures of ____°C or higher with warmer weather in the forecast should facilitate reasonably good rates of emergence.
15. The May 22 quiz includes this photo, asking “What caused the seedling on the left to die?” What is the answer?

16. A May 22 article on controlling large weeds showed this photo of a clubroot host weed that should be controlled early so galls don’t form. What is it?

17. An article on spraying weeds in dusty conditions lists two active ingredients that are very dust sensitive. One is glyphosate. What is the other?
18. Here is a question from our June 5 quiz: What is turgor pressure?
19. By early June, it was clear that flea beetle damage was worse than usual in 2019. Fill in the blanks in this explanation: ________________ + _________________ = lots of crops under heavier-than-usual flea beetle pressure.
20. A June article addressed the question of whether to spray weeds in dry conditions. The answer is yes, because ____________________. (Fill in the blank.)
21. Group 1 clethodim can be tank mixed with Group 10 glufosinate to enhance grassy weed control in Liberty Link canola, but what if the field has a lot of Group-1 resistant wild oats? Growers can improve glufosinate activity on grassy weeds by using the 10-gallon-per-acre water rate and _______________.
22. These are important clues that a patch of weeds are herbicide resistant:
23. Grasshoppers, like flea beetles, seemed to be doing more damage than usual in 2019. Hot, dry conditions were a key reason. That’s because insects, as cold-blooded creatures, eat more and grow faster in hot weather. How else does hot, dry weather help grasshoppers?
24. The June 19 quiz is all about cutworms. Cutworms that overwinter as eggs often keep feeding longer into the season. In Western Canada, two of the more common cutworm species overwinter as eggs. Which are they?
25. What are these insects?

26. Answer details for the June 27 quiz include the following paragraph with the key pest missing. __________ is a major pest of brassica crops in Europe and it could be a serious problem on the Canadian Prairies, if it arrives, because it may not have any natural enemies to keep its population in check. _________ can destroy developing flowers, resulting in severe yield loss. ________ has been documented in the Canadian Maritimes and in Ontario and Quebec, but not yet on the Prairies. (Fill in the blank.)
27. An article on clubroot disinfectants was updated in June 2019. The article is based on research by Michael Harding with Alberta Agriculture & Forestry, who compared disinfectant solutions to see which is best to kill clubroot spores on machinery, tires, boots and hand tools. Harding concluded that the most effective disinfectant is sodium hypochlorite (bleach). It was able to kill nearly 100% of the resting spores at bleach concentrations above 1.7%. The second most effective disinfectant was what?
28. If weather turns from dry to moist just before flowering, sclerotinia spores still have time to infect the crop and cause economic yield loss. Under ideal warm and moist conditions, about how long does it take for sclerotia bodies in the soil to germinate, produce apothecia and release ascospores?
29. Presence of apothecia are a sign that spore release is occurring, but apothecia are not always easy to find or distinguish from other mushroom-like fungal bodies that may be present. Other options for spore detection are DNA-based petal testing kits or this new tool.
30. What does Canola Watch say are the best treatments for flowering canola hit with hail?
31. Dry conditions could mean a hay shortage in parts of the Prairies. Canola Watch noted in July 2019 that growers with poor-looking canola crops may want to estimate the seed yield potential and weigh that against the potential feed value of the biomass. Canola silage (on a dry matter basis) has 55 to 60 per cent total digestible nutrients (TDN) and averages ______% crude protein.
32. What disease is this?

33. The July 10 quiz asks, what are these?

34. Manitoba Agriculture crop nutrition specialist John Heard shared a nutrient deficiency case in a July article. He had been called to visit a stand of stunted canola where delayed-emerging rows were visibly nutrient deficient versus the early-emerging rows. Heard says it was “an interesting case where a combination of uneven emergence and subsequent insect injury showed up as a nutrient deficiency.” What nutrient was deficient?
35. At canolaPALOOZA in Alberta, AAFC’s Breanne Tidemann shared her research on combine weed seed destructors. A Canola Watch article includes a photo of the poster she put up at her canolaPALOOZA booth. As noted on the poster, the weed-crushing cage mills integrated into a combine will kill approximately what percentage of weeds that go through them?
36. That same article links to a podcast. We would encourage you to listen to the whole podcast, but this is a question about the first topic – cleavers. What product does Ian Epp specifically mention to use in-crop on larger cleavers that have escaped?
37. On July 11, the Keep It Clean partners recorded a webinar on market access and the importance of growing market-ready crops. Speakers included Brian Innes with the Canola Council of Canada, Cam Dahl with Cereals Canada and Mac Ross with Pulse Canada. According to the webinar agenda, one topic was common to all three presenters. What was it?
38. An article on lygus scouting was updated in 2019 with two new research findings. One study found that lygus DO NOT migrate out of cut alfalfa hay, even though this had historically been mentioned as a risk factor. The other study by AAFC in Alberta, showed that ________ and lygus do not become pests in the same fields. Early planted fields with high ________ have very low lygus populations. So spraying for _______ will not have a spin-off benefit for lygus management. (Fill in the blank.)
39. The July 25 quiz is all about bertha armyworm. It asks, where would you look for bertha armyworm during the day?
40. Timing for pre-harvest glyphosate was an important Keep It Clean message for 2019. It is critical to wait until seed moisture content is less than 30% in the least-mature areas of the crop before applying glyphosate. By waiting until ______% seed colour change in the least-mature areas of the field, growers can be confident seed moisture will be less than 30%.
41. The July 31 quiz shows this photo and asks, What caused this damage?

42. An article on “What to do with uneven fields?” says __________ remains the best and least risky option to manage extreme variation in maturity. (Fill in the blank.)
43. The same article says that if using diquat as a pre-harvest aid, remember that diquat stops maturity, so anything too green when the sprayed will stay green. For this reason, proper diquat application timing is when ____________.
44. The same article has proper pre-harvest timing for saflufenacil (Heat). The label application timing is 60-75% brown seed, but the article says the most recent BASF literature recommends _______%.
45. The article “How to test soil for clubroot” makes reference to what specific potential risk when relying on a soil test for clubroot detection?
46. A July 31 article says Charles Geddes, AAFC Lethbridge, is accepting samples from suspicious kochia patches for evaluation. They will test for glyphosate resistance and also ______________ resistance, which Geddes says “will be a very big issue, especially for pulses and small grain cereals, leaving minimal herbicide options post-emergence".
47. The August 8 quiz used this photo to train your eye to scout for bertha armyworms. How many bertha armyworms are there in this photo?

48. Palmer amaranth is in North Dakota and moving toward Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The big aggressive weed has many populations resistant to glyphosate. Anyone who finds this weed is encouraged to destroy it immediately. The article provides distinguishing features of Palmer amaranth and lists its relatives, which includes this common weed in Western Canada.
49. Palmer amaranth is a regulated weed in Manitoba, but not yet in Saskatchewan or Alberta. In Manitoba, the legal requirement is that all parts of Palmer amaranth, including the seeds, must be destroyed. In addition, any machinery (farm, construction, etc.) that is in an area where there is Palmer amaranth must be cleaned prior to being moved. What is Palmer amaranth’s official classification in Manitoba?
50. An August 8 article includes the question, what the point of disease scouting in August? Which of the following is part of the short answer given?
51. In early August, quite a few canola fields had missing or stunted pods. While there can be many causes for this, what did Canola Watch say was the “most likely” cause in 2019?
52. August is a good time to promote spraytoswath.ca, a calculator to identify the required pre-harvest intervals for crop protection products. The calculator recently expanded to include other crops in addition to canola. What are they?
53. The Canola Council of Canada launched a new “Clubroot in Canola” video in August. Early in the video, Alberta research Sheau-Fang Hwang says we saw resistance breakdown starting in 2013 because we didn’t ________________. (Fill in the blank.)
54. The same video explains how to stop the spread of clubroot if a small patch is found on a farm. What does the video saw is the first step if a patch is found?
55. The same video emphasizes that effective clubroot management requires at least a two-year break between canola crops. What does the video note as an essential step to make this canola break effective?
56. The August 14 quiz is about pre-harvest disease ID. It includes this question: _________ goes through leaves and stems via the xylem without causing much damage, until it hits the crown. Then it leaves the xylem and destroys all host tissue there. (Fill in the blank.)
57. To make sure farmers got the message that pre-harvest glyphosate must be applied AFTER seed moisture is below 30%, the CCC launched a how-to video on August 20. It was embedded in the answers to the August 21 quiz. In the video, what does Angela Brackenreed say to look for as a way to identify the proper crop stage for glyphosate?
58. Canola Watch ran its annual “Frost hits canola. What do you do?” article. Seeds normally escape damage as long as seed moisture is less than ______ %. (Fill in the blank.)
59. The same article also asks “Frost hits canola left standing for straight combining. Do I change plans?” What does the article say about frost and straight combining?
60. An August 28 article has a table with tips on how properly identify stem diseases. What disease is described here: “Shredding of the stem tissue. Stem outer skin peels back to reveal tiny black microsclerotia beneath the surface.”?
61. That same article includes this photo. These are symptoms of what canola disease?

62. An article on stored grain insects notes that they’re not usually a problem in canola. However, Vincent Hervet, stored product entomologist with AAFC in Winnipeg, has his eye on one particular insect. What is it?
63. In some years, the canola harvest sample can include a lot of grasshoppers, crickets, cabbage seedpod weevils and even flea beetles. What does Hervet say to do if a lot of these insects are in the canola sample?
64. Canola Watch posted this photo on September 5. What caused the damage?

65. The “Recipe for clubroot management” surfaced for the first time in the September 11 edition of Canola Watch. The recommendations are not new, so what was the thinking behind the “recipe” concept?
66. That same article also included an update on clubroot observations in 2019. What was the news out of Alberta?
67. An article titled, “Do you need to change blackleg resistance for 2020?”, defines a couple of important terms when it comes to blackleg resistance. What term does this define: “Provides protection against all BL races but does allow the BL pathogen to infect the plant; works at minimizing stem cankering.”?
68. The September 18 quiz is about harvest loss scenarios. One question asks: Using the Combine Seed Loss Guide, determine the losses in bushels per acre in the following scenario:
–40-foot header width
–Straw being dropped and discharge width (sieve width) is 5 feet
–35ml of seed collected in a 6 square-foot pan

What is the answer?
69. Canola Watch addressed a question about spraying germinating canola volunteers in the fall. While the article described a few possible exceptions, what is the general advice?
70. The September 24 quiz had this photo. What is it?

71. The same quiz had this photo of seeds sprouting inside the pods. It asked readers to choose three causes for sprouting. The causes are lingering response to drought, aster yellows and _______________.

72. The October 2 quiz had a seed theme. It used data from Canola Performance Trials to show how the same variety can have a different maturity ratings in different regions. For the 27 canola varieties in CPT 2018, the average days to maturity in Manitoba ranged from 83.9 for the fastest-maturing variety to 88.9 for the longest-maturing variety. The Saskatchewan range for those same varieties was 88.0 days for the shortest-maturing variety to 92.2 for the longest-maturing variety. What was the range for Alberta sites?
73. The same quiz had a question on blackleg. If a farmer had too much blackleg infection in canola this year, the farmer may want to test for blackleg races present and choose a variety with resistance to those races. In addition to that, what is the other highly effective management practice for blackleg?
74. The Prairies will have some canola overwinter in the fields this year. The same thing happened in 2016-17. As a test of quality for overwintered canola, the Canadian Grain Commission ran its Harvest Sample Program in spring 2017 and brought in 161 samples. What percentage of them graded No.1?
75. Canola Watch had a reader question in November about bin sensors and canola spoilage. The grower asked, at what temperature does heating start? Canola Watch made this reply:
76. In late October, Canola Watch tapped into a Canola Digest article on “What fertilizer practices are the worst for losses?” What practice is at the top of the list?

 

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