Reproduction in Plants

Reproduction in Plants

• Plants reproduce to create new individuals similar to themselves.
• Reproduction is the biological process where parents produce new offspring.
• Plants have vegetative parts like roots, stems, and leaves.
• The flower is the reproductive part of a plant.
• A seed can germinate and grow into a new plant.
• Plant reproduction has two main types: asexual and sexual.
• Asexual reproduction does not involve seeds.
• Sexual reproduction relies on seeds for new plant growth.
• Some plants, like sugarcane, potatoes, and roses, reproduce without seeds.

Asexual Reproduction

• Asexual reproduction is reproduction that doesn't involve the joining of gametes.
• Asexual reproduction creates new plants from the parent plant's vegetative parts.
• Asexual reproduction is also called vegetative propagation.
• New plants develop from roots, stems, and buds.

Vegetative Propagation

• Vegetative propagation is producing new plants from a parent plant's vegetative parts.
• Examples include cuttings, budding, and grafting.
• A cutting is a piece of a stem.
• Cutting, budding, and grafting propagate plants like roses and money plants.
• A cutting needs at least one node for new plant growth.
• New roots and branches develop from a node.
• Budding involves placing a bud on another plant's stem.
• Grafting involves attaching a rooted plant part onto another plant.
• In budding and grafting, the bud or root comes from a different plant.
• Vegetative propagation is faster than sexual reproduction.
• It allows for many new plants quickly.
• New plants are genetically identical to the parent plant, maintaining the same characteristics.
• New fruits can be produced rapidly

Types of Vegetative Propagation

• Plants like potatoes, ginger, and turmeric reproduce using their stems.
• Potato "eyes" are buds that create new plants.
• Ginger and turmeric are propagated through stem cuttings.
• Bryophyllum plants use buds on leaf margins for reproduction.

Other Asexual Reproduction Methods

• Micropropagation: Lab-based asexual reproduction using small plant parts.
• Fragmentation: Asexual reproduction where a parent plant breaks into fragments, each forming a new plant. Common in algae.
• Spore Formation: Asexual reproduction involving spores – microscopic, single-celled structures that become new plants. Common in fungi.

Spore Formation in Fungi

• Fungi reproduce asexually by producing spores.
• Spores release from the sporangium at a fungal hypha tip.
• Wind or water disperse spores.
• Spores can withstand harsh conditions.
• Spores germinate into new fungal colonies when conditions are favorable.