Vegetative Reproduction

Vegetative reproduction (vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is the method

of obtaining new plants from the vegetative parts (such as stems, roots and leaves) of an old plant,
without any type of involvement of sex organs. Thus this method of reproduction is used in the
production of higher plants from the vegetative parts of an old plant.

Examples: sweet potatoes, onion, guava, bryophyllum, potatoes, banana.

Vegetative propagation is of two types.

1. Natural vegetative propagation

2. Artificial vegetative propagation

Natural vegetative propagation

Natural vegetative propagation can take place from the following parts of a plant.

1. Roots
2. Stem
3. Leaves

1.Vegetative propagation by roots

In some plants vegetative propagation can take place from roots. For example, in sweet potatoes the
roots bear adventitious buds from which new plants can develop when it is buried in the moist soil. Such
roots are called reproductive roots.

2. Vegetative propagation by stem

Vegetative propagation can take place from the stem in ginger and potatoes. In these plants the stem
bear small outgrowths called buds. When a cutting of such a stem along with the bud is buried in the
moist soil then a new plant develops from these buds.

3. Vegetative propagation by leaves

Vegetative propagation can also take place from the leaves. This method is found in plants such as
Bryophyllum and Begonia.

3a. Vegetative propagation by leaves in Bryophyllum

In the leaves of Bryophyllum meristamatic marginal notches are present. From these meristamatic
tissues new plants can develop after coming in contact of soil. The new plants can detach from the
leaves and develop into a full plant after falling on the ground.

The most common methods of artificial vegetative propagation are:

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Cutting
A part of the plant, usually a stem or a leaf, is cut off and planted. Adventitious roots grow from cuttings
and a new plant eventually develops. Usually those cuttings are treated with hormones before being
planted to induce growth.
Ex –rose,
Grafting
In horticultural practices this method is commonly used. In this method the cutting of a plant (scion) is
attached to the stem of another rooted plant (stock). After some time the attached cutting becomes an
integrated part of the rooted plant. The scion and stock are placed in such a way that no gap remains
between them. Finally they become joined in such a way that their vascular systems are united. Usually
the scion is of a plant having desirable characters like large sized fruits and the stock has good absorbing
capacity. Because of the arrangement of their vascular bundles, grafting experiments are successful only
in divots and not in monocots. This method is commonly applied to improve the variety of fruits like
mango. Wax is used to cover the place where grafting is being done. This is to avoid infection.
Ex- mango, berries.
Bud grafting:

A bud is taken along with portion of bark from a plant and is used as scion in this process. A T-shaped
cut is made and the bud is fixed tightly on the stock with a tape. The bud gets attached to the stock after
some time and new branches are formed. Pears, peaches, plum, citrus, roses, etc., are propagated by this
method. This method is usually employed during spring.

Cutting:

In rose, sugar-cane, Coleus, Bougainvillea, etc., this method is used to produce new plants. In this
process stem cuttings with some nodes and internodes are placed in moist soil which gives rise to
adventitious roots and a new plant subsequently. It is a very common method of vegetative propagation.
Farmers divide up the rhizomes, tubers or roots stocks at the end of flowering or growing season. Each
part grows into a separate plant in the following year. Some plants like dahlia are propagated by root
cuttings.
Layering
This process includes the bending of plant branches or stems so that they touch the ground and are
covered with soil. Adventitious roots develop from the underground part of the plant, which is known as
the layer. This method of vegetative reproduction also occurs naturally. Another similar method, air
layering, involved the scraping and replanting of tree branches which develop into trees.
Suckering
Suckers grow and form a dense compact mat that is attached to the parent plant. Too many suckers can
lead to smaller crop size, so excess suckers are pruned, and mature suckers are transplanted to a new
area where they develop into new plants.

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 Tissue culture
Plant cells are taken from various parts of the plant and are cultured and nurtured in a sterilized
container. The mass of developed tissue, known as the callus, is then cultured in a hormone-ladened
medium and eventually develops into plantlets which are then planted and eventually develop into
grown plants.
Offset
An offset is the lower part of a single culm with the rhizome axis basal to it and its roots. Planting of
these is the most conventional way of propagating bamboo.
Apomixis
The process of asexual reproduction through seed, in the absence of meiosis and fertilization, generating
clonal progeny of maternal origin.
Advantages of vegetative propagation

1. The new plants produced by vegetative propagation are exactly like the parent plant i.e. the new
plants possess all characteristics of the parent plant.
2. If a plant has favorable traits, it can continue to pass down its advantageous genetic information to
its offspring. This is especially economically advantageous as it allows commercial growers to
clone a certain plant to ensure consistency throughout their crops.

3. The plants produced by vegetative propagation grow rapidly. This allows plants to bypass the
immature seedling phase and reach the mature phase faster. In nature, that increases the chances for a
plant to successfully reach maturity, and, commercially, it saves farmers a lot of time and money as it
allows for faster crop overturn.

4. Desired varieties and qualities of fruits and plants can be produced by vegetative propagation.

5. Those plants can also be produced by vegetative propagation which do not produce seeds or which
cannot produce viable seeds.

6. The desirable characters of a variety can be preserved indefinitely through vegetative reproduction.
7. Vegetative reproduction offers research advantages in several areas of biology and has practical
usage when it comes to afforestation. The most common use made of vegetative propagation by
forest geneticists and tree breeders has been to move genes from selected trees to some
convenient location, usually designated a gene bank, clone bank, clone-holding orchard, or seed
orchard where their genes can be recombined in pedigreed offspring

Disadvantages
A major disadvantage of vegetative propagation is that it prevents species genetic
diversity which can lead to reductions in crop yields. The plants are genetically identical and are
all, therefore, susceptible to pathogenic plant viruses, bacteria and fungi that can wipe out entire
crops.

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Micropropagation is the practice of rapidly multiplying stock plant material to produce a large number
of progeny plants, using modern plant tissue culture methods.
It is used to multiply plants such as those that have been genetically modified or bred through
conventional plant breeding methods.
It is also used to provide a sufficient number of plantlets for planting from a stock plant which does not
produce seeds, or does not respond well to vegetative reproduction.

The material grows in tissue culture medium containing nutrient and hormones (Auxin and cytokinin).

Micro propagation is suitable for seed production in some plants. This is required in certain plants where
the limitation for’ seed production is high degree of genetic conservation e.g. cauliflower, onion.

Ex: orchids, chrysanthemum, gladiolus.

Stage Methodology involved

0 Selection of Mother plant and its maintenance.
1 Initiation and establishment of culture
2 Multiplication of shoot or rapid somatic embryo formation.
3 In vitro germination of somatic embryos and/or rooting of shoots
4 Trans of plantlets to sterilized soil for hardening under greenhouse
environment.

Advantages:

1. High Rate of Plant Propagation:

2. Production of Disease-free Plants:
3. Cost-effective Process
4. Production of Seeds in Some Crops:

Disadvantages of Micro propagation:

1. Contamination of Cultures:
2. Brewing of Medium:
Micro propagation of certain plants (e.g. woody perennials) is often associated with accumulation of
growth inhibitory substances in the medium.

3. Genetic Variability:
When micro propagation is carried out through shoot tip cultures, genetic variability is very low.
However, use of adventitious shoots is often associated with pronounced genetic variability.

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 4. Vitrification:
During the course of repeated in vitro shoot multiplication, the cultures exhibit water soaked or almost
translucent leaves. Such shoots cannot grow and even may die. This phenomenon is referred to as
vitrification.

Alteration of generation

Plants reproduce both sexually (sperm and eggs) and asexually (spores), and both types of reproduction
are necessary to complete the cycle. That is, a sexually reproducing plant will make a plant that
reproduces asexually, and then the asexually reproducing plant will make a sexually reproducing plant,
and the circle goes round and round. Each reproductive event produces a new generation, and they
alternate the types of reproduction, thus the name alternation of generations.

A sporophyte is a plant that produces spores (asexual reproduction) and a gametophyte is a plant that
produces gametes (sexual reproduction). a fern leaf has little circles all over the underside of the leaf.
These are called sori and they are clusters of tiny spores. When the wind blows and releases the spores
into the air, they scatter and eventually fall to the ground.

After a few days, a new plant starts growing. This plant is a gametophyte, so it will produce gametes.
The fern gametophyte doesn’t grow into a large plant. It’s very tiny and will only last a few days. When
the time is right, which is usually after a rain when plenty of water is
around, the gametophyte releases its sperm and they swim to find eggs on
other gametophytes.

The beginnings of a new plant form when a sperm reaches an egg. The
cells start dividing and growing into a new plant, right on top of the
gametophyte. Soon the new plant, the sporophyte, gets bigger and bigger
and the gametophyte deteriorates. The gametophyte’s job is done now that
it has released its gametes, and the new sporophyte grows and grows,
starting the cycle over again

Sexual reproduction involves the two alternating processes

of meiosis and fertilization.

• In meiosis, the chromosome number is reduced from the diploid to the haploid number.
• In fertilization, the nuclei of two gametes fuse, raising the chromosome number from haploid to
diploid.

These two activities must occur alternately if sexual reproduction is to continue.

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In animals, meiosis generates the haploid gametes — sperm and eggs — directly. These single cells fuse
to form the zygote which will develop into another diploid animal.

In most plants meiosis and fertilization divide the life of the organism into two distinct phases or
"generations".

• The gametophyte generation begins with a spore produced by meiosis. The spore is haploid, and
all the cells derived from it (by mitosis) are also haploid. In due course, this multicellular
structure produces gametes — by mitosis — and sexual reproduction then produces the
diploid sporophyte generation.
• The sporophyte generation thus starts with a zygote. Its cells contain the diploid number of
chromosomes. Eventually, though, certain cells will undergo meiosis, forming spores and
starting a new gametophyte generation.

Two points of plant life cycles:

• Mitosis can occur in haploid cells as well as diploid ones.

• A haploid set of chromosomes, and hence a single set of genes (one genome), is sufficient to
control cell function in these organisms (but not in most animals).

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