3: REPRODUCTION IN CROP PLANTS

Why crops/ plants reproduce?

Plants are living organisms and need to reproduce
in order to pass on their genes to future generations.
Plant propagation is the multiplication of plants by
both Asexual and sexual means.They can create their
offspring either through

1.Sexual Reproduciton or

2.Asexual Reproduction.
Reproduction of Crop Plants
 Sexual vs Asexual
• Ase Asexual xuaduction Sexual Reproduction
– involves only 1 parent – involves 2 parents
– offspring genetically – offspring genetic mix of
identical to parent both parents
– involves regular body – involves specialized
cells sex cells
– its quick – its slow
 Which is Better?
It depends!

Asexual Reproduction  Sexual Reproduction

advantages  advantages
does not require special cells lots of variation within a
or a lot of energy species
can produce offspring able to live in a variety of
quickly environmental settings
in a stable environment able to adapt to changes in
creates large, thriving the environment
population  disadvantages
disadvantages
needs time & energy
limited ability to adapt
produce small populations
face massive die-off if
environment changes
1. Sexual Reproduction/Seed Reproduction

 It is the result of genetic combination of parent

plants.
 Recall, that flowering plants made up the largest
group of plants on Earth.
 Flowering plants reproduce by making seeds.

 Seeds will eventually grow into a new plant.

 Seeds are formed through a process called –
sexual reproduction
 Some flowers have male reproductive parts.

 Some flowers have female reproductive parts.

 There are also, other flowers have both male and

female parts.
 Male Reproductive Parts
 Stamens – the male
reproductive pare of
a flower.

 Pollen – is a powder
that contains male
reproductive cells
that is produced by
stamen.
 Female Reproductive Parts
 Pistil – contains the
female reproductive
parts of a flower.

 Ovary – part of the

flower in which seeds
develop, located at the
bottom of the pistil in a
hollow structure.
Sexual Reproduction: requires genetic material

(DNA) from two parents. The parent plants have

male and female sex cells, called gametes.

The genetic material from the male and female

gametes combines to produce offspring. We call this

process fertilization which produces seeds.

 Sexual
Reproduction in
Plants
Female Parts

Male Parts

(Pistil)

pollen (male) + ovule (female) → single-celled zygote → multi-celled

embryo (contained in a seed) → new individual
 Flowering plants make up the largest group
of plants on Earth.
 Flowering plants 4 main organs:
1) Roots

2) Stems

3) Leaves

4) Flowers
 Seeds produced through fertilization contain
genetic material from both parents. As a result,
the offspring are not genetically identical to
either of the parent plants.
 This genetic diversity can help them survive if
the environment changes.
 Flowering plants reproduce sexually through a
process called pollination.
 Flowers contain male sex organs
called stamens and female sex organs
called pistils.
 The anther is the part of the stamen
contains pollen is the male gametes. Pollen must
move to a part of the pistil (stigma) for
reproduction to take place.
 The outermost parts of the flower are green
structures called sepals. They protect the
flower before it opens. Inside the sepals are
the petals. These are usually colourful. Petals
on flowers are actually modified leaves. Within
the petals are the stamens..
 Each stamen contains a filament topped by
pollen-producing cells.
 The innermost part of the flower is
the carpel. The carpel contains the ovary.
 This is where the eggs, or ovules, are located.
The pollen from another flower must enter the
ovary and fertilize an ovule in order for a seed to
start developing
 Pollination
• Pollination – when pollen is
transferred from the stamens by
wind and animals to the top of
the pistil.
• Pollinators – animals that transfer
pollen
– Ex: bees, butterflies, insects, &
hummingbirds
 Steps of Pollination
1) Pollinator visits a flower
2) pollen rubs off the male part of flower onto the
animal’s body
3) pollen falls off onto the female part of that
flower or another flower.
4)once transferred, pollen travels down into the
ovary, where fertilizes the egg—fertilization
occurs.
5) Each fertilized egg in a flowering plant can
develop into a seed  ovary into a fruit  fruit
contains seed that will grow into new plant
 Genetic diversity comes in handy when
conditions change and organisms need to
adapt to the change.
 Some plants have features that actually
prevent self-pollination. This includes things
such as pollen and ovules that develop at
different times.
Types of Pollination
Sometimes plants pollinate themselves which is
called
Self-pollination happens when a plant’s own
pollen fertilizes its own ovules.
 Self Pollination – pollen is carried from stamen to
pistil of SAME flower
 Other times plants pollinate other plants which
is called Cross-pollination happens when the
wind or animals move pollen from one plant to
another. The advantage of cross-pollination is
that it helps keep a species genetically diverse.
 Cross Pollination – pollen is carried to from stamen
to pistil of a DIFFERENT flower
 Pollinators are animals that carry pollen between
plants. Many pollinators are insects, like bees,
butterflies, moths and beetles.
 Some birds, including hummingbirds, also play a part.
Likewise, certain mammals, like bats and rodents,
move pollen between plants. The colours and smells of
flowers often attract pollinators. Pollen will stick to a
pollinator’s body as it feeds on the flower’s
 Fertilization is the next step after pollination.
During fertilization, the male gametes from the
pollen join with the female gametes in the egg.
The egg, or eggs, are found inside the stigma.
The scientific word for an egg is an ovule.
 Fertilization creates fruit that contain seeds.
Some fruits are fleshy, like oranges and
watermelons.
 Others are dry and easily transported by wind
and Fruits are an attractive food for various
animals.
 After eating fruit, animals expel waste that
contains seeds.
 This way, seeds can take root and grow in places
far from the plants that produced them!
 Anatomy of a Seed
 Embryo – a tiny new plant
contained in each seed.
 Cotyledon – parts where
the stored food is located
 3 things each seed has:
Embryo
Cotyledon (stored food)
Seed coat
 Dispersal Mechanisms
• 3 Types of Dispersal:
– 1)Self Dispersal – when ovary
splits or divides releasing seeds
– 2)Wind Dispersal – dispersal via
wind
• Helicopters, dandelions, etc.

– 3)Animal Dispersal – dispersal via

animal
• Animal feces, attaching to animals,
etc.
 Germination
 Once a seed is dispersed, if it lands in soil it
may germinate.
 Germination – is the sprouting of a new plant
from a seed (seed developing into a plant).
 Steps of Germination
1) First, seed absorbs so much water that it swells
and bursts its seed coat.

2) Stored food inside provides energy for the roots,

stem, and leaves to start growing.

3) After plant emerges from soil, it can capture

sunlight and perform photosynthesis.
• After the fertilization process is completed
ovule seed.
ovary fruit
What is seed?
 Botanically: Seed is matured ovule and usually
closed in matured ovary (fruit) which consisting
of an embryonic plant together with a stored food
surrounded by a seed coat.
36
Horticulturally: Seed is a sexual reproduction
method which involve the exchange of genetic
material between two parent plants to produce
a new generation.
Propagation by seed is the most commonly
known method of producing new plants.
Common annual and biennial vegetables
and flowers are grown easily from seed.

37
 Advantage of sexual propagation

Is usually the only method of producing new varieties

or cultivars.

Cheapest and easiest method of producing large number

of plants.

It can be a way to avoid certain disease, particularly

viral diseases.

It may be the only way to propagate some spp.

38
 Seed and Its Main Parts
 A matured seed has the following important parts.
1. Seed coat
2. Food reserve (endosperm)
3. Embryo
1. Seed coat:
 Protect the seed from adverse climatic condition.
 To store seeds for a long period of time
 To protect the embryo from injury and drying out
 To transport seeds long distance.
2. Storage organ (endosperm):
 It is a temporary food supply, is packed around the embryo in
the form of special leaves called cotyledons (seed leaves).
 Serves as a source energy for embryo growth during seed
development.

39
3. EMBRYO

• The little plant in embryonic state which develops

in to a new plant.

Mitotic cell
zygote
Egg cell Fertilization Embryo
division

Pollen sperm
 Parts of embryo: Embryo has two main parts.
These are:-
1. Embryo axis
2. One or two cotyledons

40
1. Embryo axis:
a. Radicle: embryonic root
b. Plumule: embryonic shoot.
c. Epicotyls: found between plumule and
cotyledon.
d. Hypocotyls: found between cotyledon and
radicle.
2. One or two cotyledon:
a. Endospermic seedlings: stores food in the
endosperm
-Has one cotyledon 41
b. Non-endospermic seedlings:
• Cotyledon as a food storage.
• Two cotyledon. Five most
important parts of a
Fig. 2: Main parts of seed
seed:
Seed coat,
Endosperm,
Embryo's
primary root,
Cotyledon, and
Embryonic
leaves.

42
43
 Sexual Reproduction Summary
Male Female Type of Result of Final
Gamete Gamete Union Union Result

Plants pollen ovule (egg) pollination single cell multi-cell

zygote embryo
(in seed)

Animals sperm egg fertilization single cell multi-cell

zygote embryo
45
2. ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Asexual reproduction only requires DNA from
one parent. It creates offspring that are genetically
identical to the parent.
Genetically identical offspring are called clones.
Clones lack genetic diversity. This makes them less
able to fight disease. It also makes them less
adaptable to changes in the environment.
 There are different methods of asexual
reproduction. They include vegetative
propagation and fragmentation.
 Vegetative propagation does not need seeds
or spores. Instead, offspring grow from a part
of the parent plant. In different plants,
vegetative propagation happens in different
ways.
 Vegetative Reproduction
does not involve seeds

some offspring can grow from cuttings (e.g. coleus),

runners (e.g. strawberries), tubers (e.g. potatoes) or
bulbs (e.g. tulips)… which are part of the parent plant
 Here are a few examples.
 Garlic, onions and tulip plants all reproduce
using true bulbs. These short underground stems
are also called scaly bulbs. They have a base
that is usually surrounded by modified leaves.
These leaves form a papery covering called
a tunic. New bulbs grow off of the parent bulb’s
base.
 Zinger reproduce using corms, which are similar
to true bulbs. However, a corm doesn’t have as
many layers.
 Potato plants reproduce using tubers. Tubers
produce new plants from stems or growing points
called eyes.
 Ginger plants reproduce using rhizomes. These are
stems that grow sideways along the soil or just
below the surface. They branch out to produce new
points of growth.
 Strawberry plants reproduce using stolons. They
look like branches growing along the ground.
 Stolons anchor themselves to the ground and
develop roots. The roots grow into new plants.
 Fragmentation is another form of asexual
reproduction.
 It involves new plants growing from small parts of
a parent plant that fall to the ground.
 This is one of the ways that plants like
liverworts and mosses reproduce.
 Seedless Reproduction
• Non-vascular Seedless – produced by spores
and are nonvascular
– Ex: moss

• Vascular Seedless – produced by spores but

are vascular
– Ex: Ferns
 Review/summary
 Nonvascular:
Non-complex
Small
Seedless
 Vascular:
Complex
Larger
Seeds (usually)
Vascular Tissue
 How Flowers Reproduce?
 All flowers reproduce by making a
_______________.

 This _______________ will eventually grow

into a new species.

 A seed is the end product of a what type of

reproduction _______________________.
 Male Reproductive Parts

 Stamen –
__________________
__________________

 Pollen –
__________________
__________________
__________________
 Female Reproductive Parts
 Pistil –
______________________
______________________

 Ovary –
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
 Pollination
 Pollination -
______________________________
______________________________
______________

 Pollinators -
______________________________
______________________________
______________
 Check List
1) What are two modes of reproduction that plants
use?
2) Which one requires fertilization?
3) Female reproductive organs produce __________,
while male reproductive organs produce __________.
4) Which reproduction creates genetically identical
offspring?
5) List the 4 main organs of a plant.
6) In 3 sentences tell me which organ you feel like is
the most important out of the 4 organs of a plant and
back up with facts.
• Pollination
– Pollinators
– Stamen, pollen, pistil

• Fertilization
– Sex Cells (Gametes)
– Ovary
– Seed
– Fruit
• Germination
– Seed, soil, water, sunlight
 Anatomy of Seed
 Embryo –
____________________________
 Cotyledon –
_____________________________
________________________
 3 things each seed has:
Embryo
Cotyledon (stored food)
Seed coat
 Dispersal of Seeds
 Seeds must find their way to the __________.

 A seed needs 3 things to grow.

____________, ______________, ____________

 Animals and wind can help in dispersing

_____________.
 Dispersal Mechanisms
 3 Types of Dispersal:
1)Self Dispersal –
____________________________
2)Wind Dispersal –
_____________________________
Helicopters, dandelions, etc.

3)Animal Dispersal –
____________________________
Animal feces, attaching to animals, etc.
 Germination
• Germination -
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
 Steps of germination:

 1) Seed absorbs so much _________, until seed

coat bursts
 2)__________ provides food for the seed to
grow.
 3)Grows above ground and can go through a
process of __________________ .
 Check List
1) What are two modes of reproduction that plants use?

2) Which one requires fertilization?

3) Female reproductive organs produce __________, while male

reproductive organs produce __________.

4) Which reproduction creates genetically identical offspring?

5) List the 4 main organs of a plant.

6) In 3 sentences tell me which organ you feel like is the most

important out of the 4 organs of a plant and back up with facts.
 Check List
1) Draw out a seed and label these 3 parts: Cotyledon, Embryo,

Seed Coat

2)The __________ is the tiny new plant that is located inside of

the seed.

3) The _____________ is the stored food inside the seed.

4) The protective coat on the outside of the seed is called the

___________.

5) What are the 3 major steps in germination?

6) Once a seed is produced after fertilization, what are 3 things

needed for it to grow?

7) Dispersal is how a seed finds/gets to a place to grow, how

many ways of dispersal can there be?

8) If a seed is eaten by an animal, and digested through the

digestive system, what type of dispersal has occurred?

9) Give an example of an plant that has self dispersed seeds, wind

dispersed seeds, and animal dispersed seeds.

10) _______________ is the process in which a seed sprouts into

a new plant.
 Plant Reproduction

 Plants can reproduce in 2 different ways:

____________ & _______________

 Plants have 4 main organs:

__________ , ___________ , ___________ ,

_____________
 Check List
1) What type of reproduction in plants requires
fertilization?
2) Where does fertilization occur in a plant?
3) What is the male reproductive part of a flower?
4) What is the powdery substance that contains male
reproductive cells called?
5) The end product of sexual reproduction in plants is a
_____________. Which will eventually grow into a new
organism.
6) What is it called when pollen travels from the stamen
to the top of the pistil?
7)Draw out a flower and label: Pistil, Pollen, Stamen,
Ovary, Eggs.
8) List 3 types of Pollinators.