SCIENCE06L13: Vegetative Propagation in Plants

OBJECTIVES
 Identify the different ways of propagating plants
 Compare natural vegetative propagation from artificial vegetative
propagation
 Classify the plants according to the parts on how they are propagated
 Know the advantage and disadvantage of vegetative propagation in plants

LESSON PREREQUISITE
The student is required to have learned about: Spore-bearing and Cone-bearing Plants.

LESSON PROPER
Vegetative Propagation
Vegetative propagation is a plant reproduction process wherein the
vegetative parts that include the roots, stems, buds, and leaves, instead of seeds and spores, of the parent plant aid in regrowing new plants. It can be natural or artificial vegetative propagation.

Advantages of Vegetative Propagation
 Preserves all positive traits of the parent plant
 Allows repeated reproduction
 Helps maintain quality crops in commercial production

Disadvantage of Vegetative Propagation
 Limits the variety of plants as this process produces clone plants

Natural Vegetative Propagation
Natural Vegetative Propagation is the process in which a new plant grows out of a mature plant without human intervention.

Plants can grow from leaves.

Some leaves develop buds (or areas where plantlets form) at their tips. These buds eventually develop roots. When the roots fall off and touch the ground, new plants grow and develop into adult. Examples are Bryophyllum plants, like Kalanchoe.

Plants can grow from stems.

A stem has nodes where leaves are attached and buds can grow. Stems
generally grow above the ground. However, some plants have stems that grow underground. These are called modified stems. Plants with special stems include runners, tubers, bulbs, corms, and rhizomes. These plants propagate through their modified stems.

Runners (or Stolons)
Runners, also known as Stolons, are horizontal stems that grow above the ground. Plantlets form along the stolon. Roots form where the stolon touches the ground. When a stolon with roots and plantlet breaks from the parent plant, the new plant grows independently. Example of runners include strawberries, Bermuda grass, and creeping ivy.

Tubers
Tubers are enlarged or swollen underground stem. It contains stored food
and has nodes or tiny eyes on its surface called axillary buds, which develop into young new plants. Potatoes and dahlia are examples of tubers.

Bulbs

Bulbs consist of short underground stems. It has many fleshy leaves called scales that store food. At the center of the bulb is an apical bud that grows upward at the peak. Lateral bud grows at the side of the bulb and produces new shoots or young outgrowths. Examples are onions, lilies, and tulips.

Corms
Corms have a thick stem base with scaly leaves at the nodes and contain stored food. These scaly leaves are made of solid tissues, which differentiate them from bulbs. Plants with corms include gabi or taro, arrowhead, and cocoyam.

Rhizomes
Rhizomes are horizontal underground stems that grow near the ground
surface. They can grow buds at the nodes, which will become new plants. Examples include ginger, lotus, grasses, and turmeric.

Plant can grow from roots.
Root tuber
It is a singular, enlarged or swollen root that functions as a storage organ for water and nutrients. Sweet potatoes and cassava are examples of root tubers.

Shoots or suckers
These are new underground stem that come out from the roots of the
modified stems. These new stems become young sprouts or new plants. Banana and bamboo plants grow from shoots.

Artificial Vegetative Propagation
Artificial Vegetative Propagation is the process in which humans grow new plants from the different parts of a mature plant through various methods.

The most common artificial vegetative propagation methods are stem cutting, grafting, marcotting, layering, and tissue culture.

Stem Cutting
Stem cutting involves cutting a part of a stem and placing it in moist soil or water. When the stem takes root in the soil, it will grow a new plant of the same species. When placed in water, roots should appear first from the submerged stem before transplanted to a fertile soil. Examples of these plants are santan, gumamela, rose, and bougainvillea.

Grafting
Grafting is a method that combines two species of plants, wherein a cut
upper part of a plant or shoot is attached to a cut part of a rooted plant. The rooted portion is called the stock, while the shoot portion is the scion. Mango, lanzones, and calamansi are propagated through this method.

Marcotting and Layering