Artificial methods

• Plants can also be produced vegetatively by artificial means.
• These methods include cutting, grafting, and layering.

Cutting:

• It involves cutting off part of a stem, leaf, or root and placing it in moist soil.

Cutting method

• After some time, these stems strike roots at the base and grow into a new plant.
• This method is generally used for sugarcane, rose, Bougainvillea, hibiscus, etc.

Grafting:

• This is a very common method used in ornamental and fruit plants to develop new varieties called hybrid varieties.

• A bud, or a cutting that has several buds, called the scion, of one plant is placed over the cut stem with roots of another plant called the stock.
• The scion and the stock are then firmly tied together.
• The stock supplies water and minerals to the scion.

Layering:

• This is a method most commonly used in grapes, jasmine, and Bougainvillea.

Layering method

• In this process, a young branch is lowered down and bent towards the ground and covered by moist soil forming a layer.

Process of layering

• After some time, roots arise from the branch and grow downwards.
• The branch can then be cut off from the parent plant and allowed to grow into a new plant.

Advantages of Vegetative Reproduction:

• The advantages of vegetative reproduction are listed below:
• It is a faster and more certain method of reproduction. Sometimes the seed may not germinate due to unfavourable conditions.
• But in this case, new plant directly grows from a part of the parent plant.
• New plants exactly resembling the parent plant are formed. Thus, it helps in conserving characteristic features of the parent plant.
• Plants which do not flower or have seeds can reproduce with this method.