Texas CORE exam study guide
The General Standards (CORE) exam draws from these topic areas. Use this as your study map, then practice each with cited questions.
Last updated 2026-06-15.
Pesticide Laws & Regulations
Federal FIFRA and Texas rules: use classifications, recordkeeping, and applicator responsibilities.
- Distinguish restricted-use from general-use pesticide classifications and the rules that apply to each.
- Identify the applicator's legal responsibilities for recordkeeping and use consistent with the label.
- Distinguish federal (FIFRA/EPA) authority from Texas Department of Agriculture authority.
Pesticide Labels & Labeling
Reading and following the label: signal words, directions for use, restrictions, and precautionary statements.
- Locate the signal word and state the relative toxicity it indicates.
- Interpret restricted-entry interval (REI) and pre-harvest interval (PHI) from a label.
- Determine the legal application rate, site, and target pest from the directions for use.
Pesticide Formulations
Formulation types, their abbreviations, and how formulation affects mixing and application.
- Identify common formulation types (EC, WP, WDG, SC, G, etc.) and their handling implications.
- Explain how formulation affects agitation, compatibility, and applicator exposure.
Applicator Safety & PPE
Routes of exposure, personal protective equipment, and worker protection.
- Identify the routes of pesticide exposure and the PPE that reduces each.
- Determine required PPE from the label and the Worker Protection Standard.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of pesticide exposure.
Pests & Integrated Pest Management
Pest identification principles and the components of integrated pest management.
- Explain why correct pest identification precedes control decisions.
- Describe IPM components: thresholds, monitoring, and combining control tactics.
Application Equipment & Calibration
Sprayer components, nozzle selection, and calibration math.
- Calibrate a sprayer to deliver a target application rate (gallons per acre).
- Select and maintain nozzles to achieve uniform, on-target application.
Mixing, Loading & Application
Calculating product and tank-mix amounts and applying uniformly.
- Calculate the amount of product needed for a given area and rate.
- Calculate tank-mix amounts and acres covered per tank.
Environmental Protection & Drift
Protecting water, pollinators, and non-target sites; managing spray drift.
- Identify factors that increase spray drift and practices that reduce it.
- Recognize sensitive sites and the label statements that protect them.
Storage, Transport & Disposal
Safe storage, transport, container rinsing, and disposal.
- Describe safe pesticide storage and secure transport practices.
- Explain triple-rinsing and proper container disposal.
Emergencies, Spills & First Aid
Responding to spills and exposures; first-aid statements on the label.
- Apply the control–contain–clean-up procedure for a pesticide spill.
- Use label first-aid statements to respond to an exposure.
Exam length (100 questions / 2 hours) and the 70% passing score are verified from TDA/AgriLife and the Metro Institute candidate page. TDA does not publish per-topic weights, so this blueprint's topic weighting is ApplicatorReady's estimate, used only to balance practice — it is not an official exam blueprint.