Asexual Propagation of Plants Introduction - Asexual Propagation of Plants
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ASEXUAL PROPAGATION OF PLANTS INTRODUCTION - ASEXUAL PROPAGATION OF PLANTS Asexual propagation has been widely used within the plant sciences as a method of maintaining genetic purity. Most of the uses have been within horticulture, although we do have examples in both forages and agronomic cropping systems. We have also found this to be an efficient method of maintaining some botanical varieties. When using asexual propagation, we are essentially producing clones. Clones are groups of plants that are identical to their parent (or donor) plant. We also use this process for plant types that can only be propagated asexually. Several classic examples of these are the Bartlett pear and the Red Delicious apple. The specific genetic composition has been asexually propagated for many years. Major methods of asexual propagation of stems and leaves are cuttings, layering, division, and grafting. We also find the production of specialized plant parts that allow for asexual propagation. One of the widely used plant parts are the production of modified stems. These can be found in the form of tubers, bulbs, rhizome , corms and stolons. Although less frequent, we do find the use of root tissue for plant propagation. LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Understand the importance of economically important, asexually propagated species and the unique characteristics or each type of classification. 2. Be able to correctly use the terminology and identify the structures of the asexually propagated plant parts that are commonly found in horticultural species. 3. Learn the proper methods associated with asexually propagating economically important plant species. Advantages of vegetative reproduction Since higher levels of stored reserves are available throughout the year and the parent plant with its root system can absorb water from quite a wide area, two of the hazards of seed germination are reduced. Buds are produced in an environment where the parent is able to flourish, but many seeds dispersed from plants never reach a suitable situation for effective germination. Vegetative reproduction does not usually result in rapid and widespread distribution of offspring in the same way as seed dispersal, but tends to produce a dense clump of plants with little room for competitors between them. Such groups of plants are very persistent and, because of their buds and underground food stores, can still grow after their foliage has been destroyed by insects, fire, or cultivation. Those species regarded as weeds are difficult to eradicate, since even a small piece of an asexual propagule bearing a bud can give rise to a new colony (clone). The following sections will describe the diversity of methods and/or structures that can be used for the process of asexual reproduction. SEPERATION Separation is the propagation method in which these natural structures are simply removed from the parent plant and planted to grow on their own. Crown division is one method and one of the best methods to propagate herbaceous perennial plants (Figure 1). With this process, the plant is simply cut into sections with a knife. Individual growing points (shoots) that contain roots may then be used be used to form new plants. Some woody perennials that branch or sucker (adventitious shoots) from the main plant can also be reproduced in this way. A B C Figure 1. Example of an asexual propagation called separation: (A) Large, mature plant that can be separated into multiple shoots with adventitious roots, (B) several stems with roots that have been removed, and (C) new plant is potted. PROPAGATING PLANTS BY GRAFTING (OR BUDDING) Grafting and budding are used as one of the primary methods of propagating certain plants such as fruit trees (illustrated in Figure 2). Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby plant parts from one plant are attached onto those of another so that the two plant types join together. In most cases, one plant is selected for its root characteristics and this is called the stock or rootstock The other plant is selected for its vegetative characteristics such as stem, leaf, flower or fruit and is called the scion. LAYERING A simple method where the potential cutting(s) is (are) attached to the plant until the adventitious roots form is called layering (Figure 3). This is done by covering the developing rooting areas with some form of media such as soil , sand, or a potting mix. This allows for nutrients from the stock plant to supplement growth until the ‘cutting’ can be detached producing functional plants. A variation of this procedure is air layering (Figure 4). This is done by taking a stem and covering 1 – several nodes with a media until such a time that we get the formation of adventitious roots. The stem can then be severed from the stock plant and establish a new cutting. Figure 2. Illustration of the grafting process with a separate rootstock and a scion. Figure 4. Illustration of the air layering process. Figure 3. Illustration of the layering process. CUTTINGS This method of asexual propagation is one of the most popular techniques due to the limited resources that are needed and it’s efficient use on various landscaping, fruit, and vegetable plants. A cutting is a vegetative plant part which is severed from the parent plant in order to produce a plant that is genetically identical to the donor (Figure 5). There are a number of various methods that fall under this classification. Cuttings may be taken at any time on herbaceous plants but may vary with perennial plants. At least one node should be below the media surface since many plant types will produce roots with this plant part, but some plants can root at the internodes. Some of the variation within this procedure are the tip cuttings (stem cutting which includes the terminal bud), cane cuttings (stems are cut into sections containing one or two nodes), or leaf cuttings (may be a whole leaf with or without the petiole or leaf sections). VEGETATIVE PLANT STRUCTURES Another major area is the natural production of vegetative plant structures that have the capacity to produce new plants. Asexual propagation, as mentioned earlier, is the best way to maintain some species, particularly an individual that best represents that species. Many of these vegetative structures are modified stems and include structures produced below the soil line (bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers) and above the soil (stolons). Many of these serve as food storage areas for the plant. Each of the major types of vegetative plant structures will be described. STOLONS A stolon is a horizontal stem that can root and produce new adventitious roots (Figure 6). A term that is also used is a runner . Plants that produce stolons or runners are propagated by initiating the production of adventitious roots and then removing the plantlet from the maternal plant. Plantlets can also be initiated at the tips of stolons and form roots while still attached to the parent (spider plant) or detached and placed in a rooting medium. Examples: strawberry, spider plant, bermudagrass. BULBS Bulbs consist of very short stems with closely packed leaves arranged in concentric circles round the stem. The leaves are swollen with stored food e.g. onion (Figure 7). A terminal bud will produce the next A B C D E Figure 5. Examples of cuttings: stem cutting (A, B, &D) and a leaf cutting (C & E). A B C Figure 6. Examples of several plant types that reproduce asexually by means of a modified stem called a stolon: (A) strawberries showing a plant producing stolons and inset a stolon without the production of adventitious roots and a mature plantlet with adventitious roots. (B&C) A plantlet and a mature spider plant. year’s flowering shoot and the lateral (axillary) buds will produce new plants. There are also a number of flowering bulbs that are used in the horticultural industry. RHIZOMES Rhizomes are stems which grow horizontally under the ground. In some cases, the underground stems are swollen with food reserves. The terminal bud turns upwards to produce the vegetative shoot and A B A C D Figure 7. Example of a simple bulb (Allium cepa). A mature bulb (A) and a X-section (B) showing the modified leaves. An immature bulb (C) showing the production of adventitious roots and a X-section of the immature growth (D). the lateral buds may grow out to form new rhizomes. This tissue typically has stored reserves. At each node we find an axillary bud covered by a leaf scale. This tissue has the ability to produce a shoot and adventitious roots. If a rhizome is cut into pieces with at least one node, this may allow for the production of a new plant. A B C Figure 8. Examples of a rhizome producing plant. (A) A sedge (Cyperus spp.) producing a plant from the activity of a rhizome. (B) A rhizome from a johnsongrass plant (Sorghum halepense) with the individual rhizome with a functional plant with leaves and adventitious roots (C) and rhizomes with developing shoots prior to emergence. A B C Figure 9. An example of a bermudagrass plant that produces both a stolon (A) and a rhizome (B&C). TUBERS Tubers are thick, underground stems that develop at the end of rhizomes (Figure 10). The tuber has all the parts of a normal stem including nodes and internodes. The nodes are the ‘eyes’, and they are arranged around the tuber in a spiral fashion beginning on the end opposite the attachment point to the rhizome. A tuber will typically have a form of stored reserves in cells classified as parenchyma. The tuber is produced in one growing season and is a means of propagation. One of the best examples of a tuber is the potato (Solanum tuberosum).