Question

What is vegetative reproduction?

Answer 1

Hint: In plants, when the new organism is formed without the involvement of male and female parts.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Vegetative reproduction is an asexual mode of reproduction in plants. It is a method of multiplication in which a somatic part of the plant detaches from the body of the mother and develops into a new independent plant under suitable environmental conditions. The detachable somatic part involved in vegetative propagation is called vegetative propagule. These somatic parts carry buds. Bud is generally present on nodes and when part of a plant having nodes is placed in contact with damp soil, the buds sprout producing new plants.

There are two types of vegetative reproduction - Natural method and Artificial method.

Natural method include the following -
1. Underground stem - rhizome of ginger, tuber of potato and bulb of onion.
2. Subaerial stem - Offset of water hyacinth, sucker of chrysanthemum, runner of grass.
3. Aerial stem - Sugarcane, opuntia.
4. Bulbils of Agave
5. Leaves of Adiantum, Begonia, Kalanchoe.
6. Roots of Dahlia.

Artificial methods include -
1. Cuttings - Cuttings are cut pieces of stem, leaves and roots which are planted in nurseries in natural polarised fashion. For this root promotes chemicals like NAA and IBA and is required.
2. Layering - A type of root cutting method in which adventitious roots are induced to develop on a soft stem while it is still attached to the plant.
3. Grafting - A technique of connecting two parts of two different plants to create one composite plant.
4. Micropropagation - Raising of a new plant from small plant tissues with the help of tissue culture technique.

Note: Vegetative propagation is favorable to produce exact clones and production of ornamental plants.
Formation of gametes is completely absent.
Water hyacinth cannot be removed easily due to its ability to produce vegetatively from offset. It is hence also called the terror of bengal.