Explain the process of Artificial Pollination
Artificial pollination is the process of applying pollen to plants that would normally be applied by the insects that pollinate plants. Artificial pollination can be accomplished with the use of a brush to apply the pollen. This is a technique similar to the one biologist Mendel used while studying genetics and inheritance. There are several benefits to artificial pollination, including gaining greater control over the genetic population of the crops
The pollination process transfers pollen from the male part of a plant, the stamen, to the female part, the carpel. Pollination is a method of sexual reproduction used by plants to produce fruit. Approximately 80 percent of pollination cases require other animals such as insects, bats and birds to carry pollen from one plant to another.
During the first step of pollination for most plants, an insect lands on a plant to feed on its nectar and accidentally brushes up against pollen grains. The insect then spreads the pollen to another plant when it lands to feed again. This process is called cross-pollination. Wind may also initiate the first step of the pollination process, carrying pollen from one plant to another.
Pollen grains are not gametes like sperm or eggs. Instead, they are male haploid gametophytes that travel to the female gametophytes to produce the gametes. Once the pollen grains reach the female stigma, they germinate and grow pollen tubes to the ovaries.