Introduction

• Plant propagation is the process of generating new plants from

a variety of sources like seeds, cuttings, bulbs, corms, leaves,

roots, etc.

• Plant propagation also refer to the artificial and natural

transportation and dispersal of seeds and plant parts and

offspring.

• Plant propagation is essential for production and development of

new plants in any horticulture nursery.

Importance of Plant Propagation

• Plant propagation helps to produce large number of

offspring's in short time and with minimum mortality.

• Plant propagation is necessary for production of new breeds

or varieties of plants which have better genetic constitution

and improved quality and quantity of the produce.

• Exact genetic replica of the mother plants can be produced

in vegetative plant propagation.

Methods of Plant Propagation

Importance of Vegetative Propagation

• Vegetative propagation is method of production of new plants from

the vegetative parts of the mother plant like, leaves, stem, roots.

• Fertilization does not occur in vegetative production and therefore

the new offspring's are genetic replicas of the mother plants, used

to retain quantitative and qualitative traits of the mother plant s.

• Vegetative propagation is used in case of seedless plants and

plants which are difficult to propagate by seed.

Limitations of Vegetative Propagation

• Qualitative and quantitative improvement in next generation is

not possible by vegetative propagation method. Propagation of

plants by these methods is expensive and requires technical

skill and expertise.

• Plants propagated by vegetative means gradually lose their

vigor as there is no genetic variation. They becomes more

prone to pest and diseases attack than plants grown by sexual

methods.

Importance of Sexual Propagation

• Sexual propagation is method of producing new plants from seeds,

which are produced from the process of fertilization. Seeds are the

only means of sexual propagation.

• This propagation method is very useful for bringing about genetic

improvement in plants with respect to quality and quantity of yield.

• Sexual propagation is necessary for crop improvement and

development of new varieties and hybrids. It is economical, as large

number of offspring's are produced in a very short time.

Limitations of Sexual Propagation

• Hybrids propagated by this method cannot produce true to

type offspring's and they may loose their traits and

characteristics.

• Some plants like Seedless Grapes, Papaya, Peppermint are

difficult to propagate by this method as they do not produce

seeds or the seeds are not viable.

• Orchids and bamboo plants produce seeds which are viable

for very short time or are difficult to germinate and produce .