Which statement about cultural pest management is true?

• A. Plants are not harmed by keeping the soil too wet.
• B. Pesticides are never needed.
• C. Good sanitation practices are needed to manage plant disease.
• D. Woody plants need to be fertilized more frequently.

Answer: (C)

Good sanitation practices are essential in cultural pest management because they directly reduce disease pressure by removing sources of inoculum and limiting opportunities for pathogens to spread. When you clean up infected plant debris, dispose of diseased material, sanitize tools and equipment between plants or sites, and keep the area under plants free of litter, you cut the places where pathogens and pests survive or multiply. This makes other cultural practices—like proper spacing for air flow, appropriate irrigation to avoid leaf wetness, and timely pruning—more effective and helps prevent infections from taking hold.

This approach addresses disease at its source rather than chasing symptoms with chemicals, which is why it’s the best choice. The other statements don’t hold up: keeping soil excessively wet can harm plants and promote root diseases; pesticides are not never needed—there are situations where chemical control is part of an integrated plan; and fertilizing woody plants more often is not universally true and can cause unnecessary growth, nutrient imbalance, or pest problems.