Question

What is vegetative propagation? State two advantages and two disadvantages of this method.

Answer 1

Vegetative propagation is a mode of asexual reproduction in which new plants are obtained from vegetative parts of the plants such as shoots or stem for the propagation of new plants.
Two advantages of vegetative propagation are :
(i) Plants which do not produce seeds are propagated by this method.
(ii) Vegetative propagation is a cheaper, easier and rapid method of propagation in plants than growing plants from their seeds. Plants grow very slowly and take 4 to 7 years to develop flowers when grown with their seeds.
Two disadvantages of vegetative propagation are :
(i) As there is no genetic variation, there is no chance of development of new and better varieties.
(ii) The vegetatively propagated plants are more prone to diseases that are specific to the species.