Q.

(i) Explain the principles and the importance of vegetative propagation using
two examples: (tissue culture and cuttings) (ii) Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of asexual reproduction
A. (i) Asexual Vegetative propagation is a process where a new plant is
produced from plant parts: leaves, stems, buds, or roots. This form of replication
produces plants or clones that are genetically identical to the mother plant, from
where the plant part was taken. There are several methods of vegetative
propagation. One such method is cuttings.
A wide variety of both outdoor plants and house plants can be propagated by
cuttings. Any portion of a plant, a piece of stem ,leaf or root ,which has been
removed from a plant with the object of inducing it to strike roots and thus
begins an independent existence, is called cutting. A number of environmental
factors are involved in the successful propagation of plants by cuttings. First,
the rooting media must be able to support the cutting and supply moisture as
well as air for the developing roots or shoots. Secondly, high humidity should
be maintained around the leaves to prevent wilting and the subsequent death of
the cutting. Thirdly, stem and leaf cuttings must be kept in light so that food can
be manufactured to produce roots. Finally, healthy cutting material should be
selected and kept in sterile, clean conditions so decay and rotting will not occur
prior to rooting. There are several types of cuttings including leaf, stem and root
cuttings.
Another method of vegetative propagation is tissue culture. Plant tissue culture
involves the growth of plant cells, tissues or segments for purposes such as
generating or cloning large amounts of new cells, tissues or plants. There are
many types of tissue culture but the most common is micro propagation. Micro
propagation is the basis of obtaining a mass of totipotent cells and placing it in a
sterile growth environment with the correct nutrients and hormonal balance for
the formation of shoot and root systems. Most plant cells are referred to as
totipotent, indicating that they have the greatest differentiation capacity and thus
the aptitude to re-specialize and form into any type of specialized plant cell.
This involves the use of small pieces of tissues such as axillary buds, tubers or
rhizomes for rapid cloning or generation of new plants. The tissue culturist
excises the bud and alters the plant growth regulators. Growth then changes and
multiple shoots will arise from a single bud. Each of these shoots has buds,
which in turn can be cultured. The culturist can repeat this process over and
over again to produce huge numbers of buds, each capable of producing a whole

plant. Similar multiplication steps can be performed with rhizomes, nodes,

tubers or other plant part.
Cuttings, tissue culturing and other methods of vegetative propagation are
extremely important and advantageous processes as they can be used to
reproduce plants that are difficult or impossible to reproduce from seed. It can
also produce seedless varieties of certain crops. Plants reproduced from this
method also have a reduced juvenile period and do not take as long to reach
maturity, flower and produce fruit as seedling plants. Also, since the cloned
plants are genetically identical, superior traits of the donor plant are
perpetuated. Applications of tissue culture can again be advantageous in the
replication of perennial plants. These plants are specialized to survive under
extreme environmental conditions. Using tissue culture, the extensive benefits
of perennials can be cultivated in plants.
(ii) All living things have the characteristic ability to perpetuate their species.
Some do this via asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction does not involve
the fusion of gametes. Instead, a single parent gives rise to genetically identical
offspring. This form of reproduction is advantageous in that, as a means of
maintaining continuity, it is not as complex and requires far less energy than
sexual reproduction. Numerous offspring can be produced without costing the
parent a great amount of time as it does not necessitate a mate. When colonizing
a new area, finding a mate for reproduction may be difficult or even impossible.
If an organism is non-motile e.g. plants, it is difficult to find another organism
to mate with. Also, since the offspring are genetically identical to the parent and
each other, quality traits are preserved. Offspring are likely to thrive in
environments where the parent thrived.
Despite these advantages, this method of reproduction does have some
limitations. Asexual Reproduction does not give rise to genetic variability in
organisms of a same species. This may hinder their ability to evolve and adapt
when circumstances change. An asexual species also runs the risk of suddenly
disappearing because of a catastrophe that affects all organisms of the species.