More Studying

I did some more studying today, although not as much as I had hoped. Today I studied the following:

1. Differences between parthenogenesis, thelytoky, and arrhenotoky
2. Life history, biology, pest status, host plants, damage caused by 17 plant pests
3. Studied cultural, biological, and chemical methods that can be used to control or manage the 17 pests.

Even though this doesn't look like much, studying about 17 insect pests feels like a lot to me. I now have only 3 weekends remaining to study for the final. It will be hard to study Monday through Friday because I'm taking 3 internships. However I am going to try for at least 1 hour a day.

Studying for the Final

I managed to get some studying done today. I think that blogging about my progress will help.

Today I did the following:

1. Reviewed sight ID of 38 plant pests
2. Studied sight ID of 24 additional plant pests
3. Prepared some practice questions on root knot nematodes, nematodes that transmit viruses, nema lab techniques, diagnostic characteristics for some major insects, Phytoseid predator mites and the mites they prey on, how to solve a spider mite problem in a chosen crop, and many more things.
4. Studied the differences between insects and mites
5. Studied how mites compensate for their small size
6. Studied arrhenotoky genetic system in mites and its relevance to pest control
7. Studied Integrated Mite Management
8. Studied definition of biological control terms: classical biological control, augmentation, inundation, inoculation
9. Studied how to conserve natural enemies in a cropping system
10. Compared the effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages of phytoseiids vs insects as natural enemies

I studied 7.5 hours today. It's not enough. I will have to crank it up some more.

Crunch Time

I have 4 weekends left to study for my First Comprehensive Final and I am having a hard time concentrating. I feel so burned out. Last semester just did me in. Somehow I have to find the strength and concentration to keep studying. Because I'm feeling so burned out, I am planning to take only one final this summer. I will have to take 3 finals during the fall semester. So the final that I need to prepare for now is on June 23; I have to be ready for it and I have to pass it.

I have been trying to figure out a way to make progress with the studying in spite of how I feel. I have come up with a plan. Tonight I am posting here a brief general outline of the topics that that will be on the final. At the end of every day, I will post the topics I have completed studying that day. Monday through Friday, I will not be able to study very much because I am juggling 3 internships and 1 part-time job. But I will study something, even if it is not much. During the 4 weekends that I have left, I will have to study a lot. I will have to push myself to the max and then push some more.

General Topics for the Comprehensive Final

Part 1. Diagnostics
1. Nematode identification, quantification, and management recommendations for each nematode id'd
2. Insect and mite identification (98 of them) - know life history, life stages, pest status, host plant (including part of plant), types of cultural, biological, chemical control

Part 2. Concepts and Principles (7-10 questions)
1. Nematology - races, resistance, extraction techniques, lab techniques, major diseases, virus vectors
2. Mites - differences between insects and mites, the different mites, life stages, host plants, damage, predator mites, mite reproduction, management and control strategies
3. Integrated Pest Management - definition of IPM, economic injury level, economic threshold level, sampling methods, trapping methods
4. Biological Control - definition, terminology, important uses of biological control in the past
5. Insect Toxicology - insect nervous system, resistance
6. Pesticides - nematicides, acaricides, insecticides, major resistance issues in this state.

Part 3. Broad-scope integrative questions (3-4 questions, 2-3 page answers for each question is required)
1. Acarology - steps and procedures involved in finding a natural enemy in another country for an invasive mite pest in the U.S., then bringing the natural enemy to the U.S., rearing it, and releasing it.
2. Entomology - design a study to determine the efficacy of 3 insecticides. Defend the experimental design.
3. Nematology


Later tonight I will post what topics I studied today. I hope this helps me.

Spiders

Spiders are great for agriculture. They help to reduce the number of pests that can harm a crop. When one is scouting and going along a crop row, if spider webs or spiders are observed among the foliage, that is an indication that a good pest management system is in place.

But I don't want spiders in my car! Almost every day I see one in there. A couple of days ago, I was driving along on a busy street and a spider dropped down from the visor and hung on its web right in front of my face. I felt like stopping the car right then and there, but I could not. So, I kept driving with the thing hanging right there. Fortunately, it went back up the web to the visor and walked over to the other visor and stayed there until I reached my destination. I quickly got out of the car, grabbed a kleenex, put it over the spider which was again hanging from its web and put it in some bushes. I don't like to kill spiders, so I let it live and it walked away. I wish that I didn't have a fear of spiders.