Question

(a) Why are the plants raised through micropropagation termed as somaclones?

(b) Mention two advantages of this technique. [2]

Answer 1

(a) Plants obtained by micropropagation are produced from somatic cells and are genetically identical to the original plant. Hence they are called somaclones. [1]

(b) The advantages of micropropagation are as follows:
(i) It helps in the propagation of a large number of plants in a short span of time. [0.5]
(ii) It helps in the production of virus free plants. [0.5]