Study for the Ontario Pesticide Training and Certification CORE Test. Prepare with multiple-choice questions, get hints and explanations. Ensure readiness for your certification!

Multiple Choice

Which describes a contact herbicide?

Contact herbicides act only on the plant tissue they directly touch. They kill or severely injure the sprayed surfaces but do not move through the plant to affect growth elsewhere, so untreated tissues and roots can survive. This means you’ll see damage where the spray contacts the plant, but parts that weren’t touched or nearby plants not contacted remain unaffected. This is different from systemic herbicides, which travel inside the plant to reach growth points and disrupt development. The defining trait is the local action on contacted tissue, not translocation throughout the plant.

Contact herbicides act only on the plant tissue they directly touch. They kill or severely injure the sprayed surfaces but do not move through the plant to affect growth elsewhere, so untreated tissues and roots can survive. This means you’ll see damage where the spray contacts the plant, but parts that weren’t touched or nearby plants not contacted remain unaffected. This is different from systemic herbicides, which travel inside the plant to reach growth points and disrupt development. The defining trait is the local action on contacted tissue, not translocation throughout the plant.