Chapter 5 Plant Reproduction

When organisms duplicate themselves, the process is termed reproduction. When production is deliberately controlled and manipulated, it becomes propagation. The reproduction of plants through the formation of seeds is called sexual reproduction.

Asexual reproduction is a vegetative process that eliminates genetic variation. Mitosis is the normal division of a cell nucleus that occurs as a plant grows, enlarging from embryo to maturity. In a natural world, plants reproduce both sexually and asexually. Sexual propagation utilizes seeds.

Different methods of Scarification Scarification is the breaking of a seed coat otherwise impervious to water to permit water uptake by the embryo. Stratification is the exposure of the seeds to low temperatures. Different methods of Scarification

When many plants are reproduced asexually from a single plant, the gourp of new plants is termed a clone. Plants of horticultural importance that are propagated almost totally by asexual means are termed clonal varieties. They are a type of cultivar. Runners are stems that grow along the ground and form new plants at one or more of their nodes. Stolons are aerial shoots that take root after coming into contact with the soil.

Certain plants produce new shoots from adventitious buds that develop on the toots called sucker shoots. In layering, Roots develop on a stem that is still attached to the parent plant. Propagation by stem cuttings is the most common means of reproducing plants asexually.

A plants external appearance is also know as its phenotype. A plants genetic composition is also know as its genotype. Gregor Mendel took two strains of garden pea’s that were notably different in height and conducted experiments on them.

Different types of mutations When the sexual reproduction process is controlled by the deliberate actions of human beings, plant breeding results and a specialized science, plant genetics, takes effect. Mutations are spontaneous changes in the genetic structure of a plant. Different types of mutations

Asexual propagation techniques: Runners Stolons Sucker shoots Layering grafting