Question

Eye of potato is an
A) Apical bud
B) Axillary bud
C) Accessory bud
D) Adventitious bud

Answer 1

Hint: Potatoes are modified stems and these bear eyes at the nodes present on the tuber. These eyes are capable of forming new branches of a potato plant in favorable conditions.

Complete answer:
In potatoes, each eye represents a node in the stem as the potatoes are modified stems. New stems are developed from these eyes because these are axillary buds and capable of giving rise to new branches. The terminal bud is another name often used to represent these buds.

Additional information:
-Due to having the property of giving rise to new branches from eyes, the potatoes are grown from small cubes of the tuber that are cut into parts having at least two eyes. When favorable conditions are given, a potato’s eyes start to grow breaking the state of dormancy, and each one forms a new branch.
-In a mature potato tuber, the nodes can be seen upon a close observation as small indentations in the skin. At places, small bumps are also found which represent buds and a new plant can sprout from these bumps when conditions will be favorable.
-The ideal condition for the growth of potato eyes is a warm and humid environment. The potato first starts swelling and later sprouts into new stems.

So, the correct answer is ‘Axillary bud’.

Note:
-Axillary buds can produce both types of shoots – vegetative and reproductive. The vegetative shoots are stems and branches while the reproductive shoots are the flowers.
-When an axillary bud is formed, two things may happen. Either it will be in the dormant stage for some time or it will continue to grow into a shoot immediately.
-The outer layer of the cortex of stems gives rise to the axillary buds which are formed exogenously.