Question

Why do internodal segments of sugar cane fail to propagate vegetatively even when they are in contact with damp soil?

Answer 1

Hint: Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment of the parent plant or a specialized reproductive structure.

 Complete answer: In sugarcane the nodes undergo vegetative propagation because nodes contain meristematic tissue which is totipotent, hence they give rise to the new plant.
Sugarcane contains nodes.
When placed and covered in the ground these nodes will give rise to the primary roots.
The new stem will also grow out of the bud primordium on this cutting.
The first stalk of sugar cane that comes up each year is called the ratoon.
Internodes are the distances between the two nodes and do not have meristematic cells so cannot give rise to a new plant. Internodes cannot give rise to adventitious buds.
Thus, internodal segments of sugar cane fail to propagate vegetatively even when they are in contact with damp soil.

Additional information: Vegetative reproduction is the simplest form of reproduction in plants and can occur by forming bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes among others.
Vegetative offspring are always genetically identical to the mother plant.

Note: The main advantage of vegetative propagation methods is that the new plants contain the genetic material of only one parent, so they are essentially a clone of the parent plant. Vegetative propagation can also help to maintain consistent quality and taste in products made from plants or crops.