Below is a study guide for students preparing for GGIA Junior Certification

Defining the Green Industry
What is GGIA?
Study Tips – go to www.ggia.org website look up mission, membership
benefits, organizational strucutre

Recognizing Plant Parts and Their Function
Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, Seed
Study Tips
Roots – Purpose, Types – Fiberous vs Tap, Parts of a Root, Most active
roots will be in top 12” of the soil – why?
Stems – Parts of a Stem (buds, node, internode, petiole)Purpose, Types –
Woody vs Herbaceous
Leaves – Purpose, Deciduous, vs. Evergreen, Stomata, Cuticle, Stipule
Seed- Purpose, Parts of a seed (embryonic root, seed leaf, endosperm, seed
coat), Dormancy
Flower – Purpose, What parts are used for pollination

Classify and Identifying Plants
Study Tips:
Herbaceous, Woody, Growth Habit, Size, Form, Leaf Margin and Arrangement
(compound vs simple leaf, pinnate vs compound)
Annual, Perennial, Biennial
Scientific nomenclature Language, Person who developed it, Order –Genus,
species, etc.
Be able to read scientific name and identify if it is genus, species, etc.
Know the genus for Oaks, Hollies, Maples, Pines, Junipers, Azalea

Plant Growth and Environment effects
Study Tips
Photosynthesis – what does it do for the plant, chemical equation
Respiration -  what does it do for the plant, chemical equation
Hardiness Zone – USDA Plant Hardiness map - what zone is Ga – what does
this mean ?
Temperature, Light, Water  - why do plant need each

Plant propagation
Study Tips
Sexual –What part of plant is used,  Germination Requirements,
Pretreatments
Asexual – What part of the plant is used, Define Cuttings, Layering,
Division, Separation
Tissue Culture  - what part of the plant is use, what other items are
needed

Managing  Soils & Fertility
Soil function to plant –(Nutrients and Anchorage) Water, Oxygen, Minerals
provided
pH  – Acid vs Alkaline, 0-14 scale
Essential element for plant growth – Nitrogen (Vegetative growth)
Phosphorus (root and set buds for flowers and fruit) Potassium (plant
vigor)
Fertilizer analysis and ratio 5-10-15 what does each number stand for?
How and when to fertilize – surface application, foliar spray, soil
injection, soil amendment, Osmocote
Compost – what is it, purpose

Planting ,Establishing and Maintenance in the Landscape
Best time to plant – Fall – moisture/rain fall increase
Preparation of site – planting hole preparation / amendment of soil /check
for underground utilities
Planting procedures – Ball and Burlapped vs Container vs Bare root, proper
depth to plant, problems with root ball settling
Mulching – types and how to apply around plants
Pruning –(Methods) Thinning, Rejuvenation, Heading, Hedging, (Time of year)
When to prune Azaleas, Crape Myrtles, Fruit Trees, Camellias
Watering – Type of irrigation (drip, overhead, gear driven), Best time of
day and How Much, importance of good soil drainage.

Horticulture Growing Structures and Facilities
Greenhouse & Coldframe (parts – Exhaust fans, Evaporative Cooling, HAF
fans, types of covering, types of heating, ventilation, bench systems and
layouts)

Pest Management
Nursery Plant License from Ga Dept of Agriculture – what is it?
Insect ( Body Regions, Mouthparts, Damage Caused to plants, Control
Methods, Basic life cycle for complete metamorphosis)
Disease (Fungi, Bacteria, Viruses, Nematodes, Control Methods)
Weeds (Classification, Control Methods – Pre emergence, Post emergence,
Selective, Non-selective, Herbicide)
What is IPM

 Pesticides and Safety
Define Pesticide – Difference in Insecticide, Herbicide, Miticide,
Fungicide
Labels –  LD50, Signal Words
Using pesticides safely

Business Operations / Management
What is overhead, markup, profit, advertisement
Characteristics of a good sales person
Retail vs Wholesale
Factors to consider in establish a greenhouse nursery business

The Georgia Green Industry Junior Certification Level I program consists
of a written exam and plant identification practicum. The written test is
based on the educational objectives of the Georgia Agriculture Education
horticulture curriculum and features 50 multiple choice questions. To pass
the written exam, a student must answer thirty-five questions correctly.
The second portion of the certification is plant identification. Fifty
plants will be displayed for students to identify.  To pass the
identification, a student must identify thirty-five plants correctly.

HOW TO PREPARE?
All information, training guide and certification process is outlined for
you on the agriculture education website.
http://aged.ces.uga.edu/
Look on the main page under red area What's New for the topic Junior GGIA
Certification for study guide for written test and powerpoint with photos
of all the possible plants.

Plants are a combination from the FFA cde nursery landscape and
floriculture list. Format of test will be similar to cde. Students will
have the plant list and have to write in the correct number that matches
the plant.
Written test will be multiple choice - best way to prepare is to review
past horticulture cde exam questions that address the topics outline for
Jr. GGIA certification.


* Note : students who passed part of the certification (example passed the
written exam but did not pass the plant identification)  only have to take
the part they did not pass.


HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
The registration fee is $10.00 for students from a school that is a GGIA
member and $20.00 for students from non-member schools.


HOW DO I KNOW WHO PASSED?
Exams will be graded the day of testing. Students who pass the exam and
plant identification will be rewarded with a portfolio certificate and a
GGIA Junior Certification t-shirt. Top scoring individual will be
recognized with a GGIA plaque.


Dr. Teri Hamlin
North Region Agriculture Education
Georgia Department of Education
Four Towers, University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia  30602
706-542-3679