Question

What are the advantages of propagating plants without using seeds? Name any three methods of vegetative propagation.

Answer 1

Plant propagation is the process of growing new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, and other plant parts. Plants have a number of mechanisms for asexual or vegetative reproduction. It can be used to multiply plants rapidly. Plants are produced using material from a single parent and as such, there is no exchange of genetic material, therefore vegetative propagation methods almost always produce plants that are identical to the parent.

Methods of vegetative propagation:

• Runners: Runners, sometimes called stolons, are similar to rhizomes in that they exhibit horizontal growth at or just below the soil surface. Unlike rhizomes, they originate from existing stems. As runners grow, they develop roots and shoots from buds located at nodes or at runner tips.
  
• Bulbs: Bulbs are round, swollen parts of a stem that are typically found underground. Within these organs of vegetative propagation lies the central shoot of a new plant. Bulbs consist of a bud that is surrounded by layers of fleshy, scale-like leaves.
  
• Tubers: Tubers are vegetative organs that may develop from stems or roots. Stem tubers arise from rhizomes or runners that become swollen from storing nutrients. Root tubers originate from roots that have been modified to store nutrients.