Spring 2001

Q: A shortage of magnesium (Mg) in animal rations can result in what life threatening nutritional disorder?

1. Hypomagnesaemia or "grass tetany"
2. Hemophilia
3. Heavy metal toxicity

Q: A productive soil is a fertile soil, but a fertile soil is not always a productive soil.

1. True
2. False

Q: Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are termed:

1. Primary nutrients
2. Secondary nutrients
3. Non-essential nutrients
4. Micronutrients

Q: One of the following secondary nutrients is sometimes called "the fourth major nutrient."

1. Calcium
2. Magnesium
3. Sulphur

Q: Most experts credit fertilizer with what percent of today's crop production output?

1. 0-30%
2. 30-60%
3. 60-90%
4. More than 90%

Q: What is a farm nutrient budget?

1. How much a farmer can spend on fertilizer
2. Balance sheet showing nutrient imports and exports
3. The profit from using fertilizer

Q: How can nutrients be exported from a farm?

1. The sale of grain and hay off the farm
2. Soil erosion
3. Milk sales
4. All of the above

Q: What happens when a farm has a negative nutrients budget for many years?

1. Soil fertility levels will decline
2. Crop yields drop because of nutrient shortages
3. Soil erosion increases, less vegetation on soil
4. All of the above

Q: When evaluating a nutrient management system for long-term sustainability, which is more important?

1. Nutrient uptake
2. Nutrient removal

Q: Assume soil test results as follows: phosphorus (P) = 30 ppm; potassium (K) = 120 ppm; pH = 5.1. Financial resources are very limited. What should be the first step in improving the situation?

1. Build up the P test
2. Build up the K test
3. Apply lime

Q: What is a common cause for delayed silking in corn?

1. Insect injury in the whorls just prior to silking
2. A shortage of potassium prior to silking
3. Delayed planting date
4. A very high plant population

Q: Phosphorus leaches readily into surface and groundwater.

1. True
2. False

Q: The major cause of phosphorus (P) pollution in surface waters is erosion. This can be reduced by:

1. Use of crop rotations
2. Stopping P fertilization
3. Proper tillage
4. Effective insect control

Q: Yellowing along the margins of lower leaves is an indication of deficiency of what nutrient?

1. Nitrogen (N)
2. Phosphorus (P)
3. Potassium (K)
4. Zinc (Zn)

Q: A good rule of thumb for interpreting soil tests is to apply enough fertilizer to maintain the plant nutrients at that level where the supply cannot be limiting at any stage from germination to maturity.

1. True
2. False