Plant Propagation

PLANT PROPAGATION:

Plant Propagation is the multiplication of plants foelr the perpetuation of desired species or varieties

Plants may be propagated by

a) Sexual or

b) Asexual (Vegetative)

Sexual Propagation:

Means propagation through  seeds. Seed is an embryo plant resulting from the union of male and female parts of flowers

Essential parts of seed-

a) Embryo - It develops into new plant 

b) Food storage tissues : 

May be endosperm , cotyledons or perisperm and supply necessary food materials to the young seedlings during early stage of growth 

c) Seed covering :

Three main objectives for sexual Propagation:

a) To produce commercial crops 

b) To develop new varieties

c) to grow root stocks for budding and grafting 

Breaking of dormancy of seeds:

Components essential for breaking dormancy : 

A) Moisture

B) Temperature

C) Air

D) Capacity of seed to germinate

Methods for breaking dormancy:

A) Stratification:

Is the cold treatment given to the seed to break seed dormancy by putting seed and moist sand in the alternate layer for 1 to 6 months 

e.g. Apple🍎, Pear 🍐, Peach 🍑, plum 

B) Scarification:

Is the method of breaking seed dormancy by scaring or giving injury to the seed coat to promote their absorption of water 

e.g. Peach 🍑 and almond 

Mechanical Scarification include rubbing the seeds between sheets of sand paper or by blowing small seeds under pressure

C) Acid Scarification:

Conc. H2SO4 is used for soaking the seeds with impervious coverings 

Optimum time varies from 15 minutes to 3 hours . After treatment seed is washed with running water repeatedly 

D) Soaking seeds in water:

Seeds are often soaked in water before sowing to modify hard seed coat and to remove inhibitors 

ASEXUAL PROPAGATION:

Reproduction from any fragment of the plant which does not involve meiosis is asexual or vegetative reproduction.

Reasons for using vegetative propagation:

A) Some plants neither produce seeds nor viable seeds

B) In some flowering plants functional sex organs either don't develop or if they develop they are aborted 

e .g . Banana , Orange 🍊 , Fig 🥝, Grape 🍇, Potato 🍠 , Sugarcane

C) In case of cross pollinated plants their seeds are variable in genetic composition, that's why there are not true to type 

e.g. Apple 🍎, Pear 🍐 , Cherry 🍒

D) To raise plants of a particular form 

e . g. Thornless condition is obtained by selecting buds from the thornless portion like in thornless black berry 

E) Practiced for rapid multiplication

e.g. date palm

F)To raise insect pest and disease resistant plants 

G) Vegetatively propagated plants are usually smaller in size and come to flowering earlier than seed propagated plant 

H) To bring about a desirable change in the growth habit of the plant

Disadvantage:

✓ No new varieties can be evolved 

✓ Vegetative propagation is sometimes more expensive

✓ Vegetatively propagated plants are comparatively short lived

Methods of Asexual Propagation:

A) Propagation by apomictic seedlings

B) Propagation by slecialized vegetative structures like bulb , corm , tuber or tuberous root, rhizome , runner , suckers and offsets 

C) By it's own root system like cutting and layering 

D) Propagation on the root system of other plants like budding and grafting

A) By Apomictic Seedling:

Formation of embryo in egg cell by female gamete without fertilization by the pollen is called apomixis

Apomictic seedlings are identical and having same genetic make up with its mother plant 

e g. Citrus 🍊 , Mango 🥭

B) Specialised structure: 

By separation method 

( Bulb , Corm) 

Division method

( Rhizome , tuber , sucker, runner , and offset) 

1) Bulb: e.g. 🧅, garlic 🧄

2) Corms :e.g. gladiolus

3) Tuber or tuberous root - Potato 🥔 and tuberous root in Dahlia , sweet potato , begonia 

4) Rhizome - E.g. Zinger, turmeric, banana 🍌 , ferns , and many grasses.

5)Runner(stolons) : e.g. strawberry 🍓

6) Sucker e.g. Banana , pineapple 🍍

7) Offset e .g. Datepalm 

C) By it's own root system: Either by cutting or by layering

✍️Agricos

Vaishnavi Nimkar 🌾🌱

LoveofmylifeAgriculture❤️