8. Reproduction in Plants

Modes of vegetative propagation are:

Stem, roots, leaves or buds or any other part of the plant.

Let's understand all the modes of vegetative propagation in detail.

Stem

Stems of some plants get modified to take part in vegetative propagation.

Natural methods:

1. Tubers:

• Potato is a modified underground stem which is swollen due to storage of food.
• It is called tuber.
• It has buds called eyes on them.
• These eyes when buried in soil give rise to new plants.

2. Rhizomes:

• Rhizomes are fleshy underground stems that have buds which develop into new plants.
• Examples: ginger, turmeric, etc.

3. Bulb:

• Bulbs are short underground stems that have buds present inside them.
• These buds give rise to new plants.
• Examples: onion, garlic, etc.

Artificial methods:

1. Cutting:

• Cutting is a piece of branch cut from the branch of the plant.
• This cutting is then buried in the soil.
• After some days a new plant arises from this cutting.
• Examples: rose, sugarcane, money plant, etc.

2. Grafting, layering are some other methods of vegetative propagation through stem.

Leaves:

• Buds present in the margins of the leaves which give rise to new plants.
• When the leaf of this plant falls on moist soil, each bud can give rise to a new plant.
• Or when these buds get favourable conditions, they develop into small new plantlets on the leaf.

Examples:

• Bryophyllum, Begonia

Roots

Roots of some plants give rise to new plants.

Examples: Sweet potato, dahlia

Vegetative buds:

1. Buds present in the axil of leaves are called vegetative buds.
2. The bud has a short stem & many overlapping leaves.
3. They develop into shoots that give rise to new plants.

In Cacti:

1. Parts from the main plant body get detached.
2. Each detached part can grow into a new plant.
3. Thus, it undergoes vegetative propagation by detaching parts of its body.