The plant production system encompasses the basic genetic and physiological regulations on

plant growth, the impact on growth of soil, water, nutrients, disease and pests and the influence
of management processes.

A plant is the only living organism able to manufacture its own food. ... All other forms of life need to
consume plants, their products, or other organisms (which have eaten plants) to meet their energy
needs. Plants use an extremely efficient process called photosynthesis to feed themselves.

Plants are called producers because they make – or produce – their own food. Their roots take up water
and minerals from the ground and their leaves absorb a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air.
They convert these ingredients into food by using energy from sunlight. ... The foods are called glucose
and starch.

Uses of Plants

1. Food: Plants are the main source of our food. We use different parts of different plants as food.

We eat leaves of some plants like spinach, radish, gram, fenugreek, etc.

Roots of radish, carrot, cucumber, beet etc., are eaten as salad.

We mostly eat cereals or food grains. The cereals are seeds of some plants belonging to the grass
family. We prepare many types of food from the grains of rice, wheat, gram, barley, jowar, millet,
maize, etc.

Seeds of some plants are used as pulses like gram, yellow-gram, pea, green-gram, lentil, etc.

Seeds of some plants are oily; oil is taken from the seeds like sesame, mustard, sunflower, etc. This oil is
used in preparing many kinds of food and also for some other purposes. Ground nut oil, coconut oil,
mustard oil, etc. are also used for preparing food.

Fruits of some plants are used as food. These fruits are mango, grape, apple, orange, pine-apple, etc. These
fruits are eaten raw, as they are tasty. They are juicy and rich in vitamins and minerals.

Almond, chestnut, pistachio, raisin, etc. are used as dry fruits.

Some plants give us vegetables. Potato, tomato, turnip, ladyfinger, bean, pea, cauliflower,
cabbage, pumpkin, bottle-gourd, etc. are some of the vegetables. They are cooked for eating.
These vegetables are rich in vitamin, iron and other minerals.

We get spices from plants. The spices give the vegetables good flavor and make them
delicious. Coriander, pepper, clove, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, etc. are some common spices
to make the food tasty.

We take coffee and tea.  We get them from plants. Coffee is made from the seeds of coffee-plant. Tea
is prepared from the leaves of tea-plant.

We get juice from sugar-cane. Sugar is made from this juice. With the help of sugar we make different kinds of
sweet dishes, cakes, chocolate etc.
2. Medicines: Many medicines are made from plants and these plants are called medicinal plants. Neem,
tulsi, brahmi, surpagamdha, banafsa, bail, etc. are known as medicinal plants. 

We use these plants to cure patients suffering from various diseases.

3.Paper: Bamboo, eucalyptus, etc. are used to make paper for writing and printing purposes. Rags of cotton
are also used to make paper
4. Rubber: Some plants give us gum like acacia, etc. We get rubber from rubber-plants. This rubber is used
for making tyres for many vehicles. We erase pencil marks with the help of a rubber or eraser.

5. Wood: We get timber and fire- wood from trees. Our chairs, tables, doors, windows, etc. are made of
wood. The wood of trees like teak, shisham, sal, etc. is essentially used to make different furniture.

6. Cotton: We get cotton from cotton plants. It is used to make all types of cotton clothes such as bed-
sheets, towels, etc.
7. Fibers: There are some fibrinous plants to give us fiber for making ropes, gunny-bags, etc. Hemp, jute,
etc. are such plants.

8. Perfumes: Flowers of certain plants are used to make perfumes. The flowers of rose, jasmine etc. are
good for making perfume. Flowers are also used for different purposes like to make garlands and for other
decorative purposes.
9. Pollution-remover: Plants and trees save us from air-pollution. Green plants take the carbon
dioxide from the air in the process of photosynthesis and give back oxygen to the air. We breathe in oxygen
from the air and given out carbon dioxide. Thus, we give carbon dioxide to the plants and they return us
oxygen. Hence air is saved from being polluted by carbon dioxide.

10. Manure: Plant wastes are used to make manure. This manure is utilized for the growth of other plants
and crops.

Seven Methods of Plant Propagation

We all desire to create a small garden and decorate our home with beautiful and fascinating indoor
plants. However, many of us have failed to understand how we can we do this. Some of us buy plants
from cultivators or garden centers or nurseries but fail to maintain them! This costs us a lot of money.
We will deal with these problems one by one.

Sexual Propagation

Sexual propagation of plants involves the union (fertilization) of pollen and egg leading to seed
formation. So, it can also be called ‘seed propagation’. It’s an old, easy, simple, and effective technique
for ornamentals or flowering plants, vegetables, fruits, and medicinal plants. It allows for genetic
diversity in plant species and creates new varieties and cultivars of plants. Also, seeds can be stored for a
long period of time.

Asexual Propagation

Asexual propagation of plants can also be called ‘vegetative propagation’ because it involves the use of
vegetative parts of plants like leaves, stems, roots, or modified organs. It’s the best method to use to
clone your plants, which means to produce plants identical to their parents. It involves methods like
cutting, division, layering, grafting, budding, and tissue culture techniques. These techniques are
commercially exploited mainly to produce horticulture plants.

1. Cutting
This is cutting the vegetative part of the plant (leaf, stem, and root) and then planting
it again to regenerate the whole plant. The three types of cutting are named after the
plant part being detached/cut:

1. Stem cutting
2. Leaf cutting
3. Root cutting
2. Division
This is a suitable technique for perennials (plants that live for more than two years). It
involves dividing the plant by digging and moving it to an already prepared site. This
helps the plant to rejuvenate and reduce water and nutrient competition.

3. Layering
In this technique, the attached and bent branch of the plant is covered with soil and
allowed to root. After the emergence and development of roots that specific part of the
plant is cut and allowed to grow as a new plant. This is called ‘layering’.

A schematic diagram showing a simple layering process.

4. Grafting
This involves cutting a twig of one plant and joining it with the stem of another plant
in such a manner that they form a unit and function as one plant. It is a bit of a
complex process but allows you to bring the desired character to your plant. However,
be sure to sterilize your hands and tools to make sure you don’t transfer any infections
during the process.
 A schematic diagram of the grafting technique.

5. Budding
In this method, a cut is made in the rootstock and a single bud with little or no wood is
inserted into it in such a way that they unite and grow as a new plant.
6. Tissue Culture
This is the most recent and advanced technique in which plant tissues are grown in
media under controlled and sterile conditions/environments. It is extensively used for
commercial purposes to produce clones of plants or mass produce plants. It also
provides several advantages over all the traditional methods explained above.

Advantages of tissue culture technique:

1. It allows for the production of clones or exact copies of the mother plant.
2. Plants with desired traits or characters can be grown using this technique.
3. It is beneficial in propagating plants without seeds.
4. It allows the production of plants in a shorter period of time compared to
traditional techniques.
5. Plants that are difficult to grow by traditional methods can be grown by this
method.
6. Disease-free plants can be produced.
7. Mass production of plants is possible with this technique.
8. Enhance productivity.
9. Easy transportation of plants.