Reproduction in Flowering Plants and Modern Agricultural Practices

Vocabulary flashcards covering flowering plant reproduction (asexual and sexual), floral anatomy, pollination, fertilization, crop breeding techniques, seed banks, nutritional classifications of seeds, and plant growth regulators.

Reproduction

Organism ability to produce the next generation.

Asexual Reproduction

The production of a new generation from one parent via mitosis

1. All individuals can produce offspring without gamete formation or cell fusion = genetically identical offspring.

Sexual Reproduction

The production of a new generation by bringing together genetic material of two parents through meiosis and fertilization, = genetically diff offspring (shuffled alleles)

Advantages of Asexual Reproduction

1. All individuals produce offspring

2. Faster reproductive rate

3. No energy expenditure to find mates or produce gametes

4. favourable mutations to spread quickly.

Disadvantages of Asexual Reproduction

1. No genetic variation (no recombinant alleles) = cannot adapt to environmental changes

2. Overcrowding + competition

3. rapid spread of disease among genetically identical offspring.

Advantages of Sexual Reproduction

1. Genetic variation = prevents spread of disease + reduces the inheritance of diseases

2. High adaptability

3. Can evolve in unstable enviroments

Disadvantages of Sexual Reproduction

1. High energy expenditure = make reproductive organs, produce gametes, and find mates

2. Outside agents (pollinators)

3. Risk passing on unfavourable mutations or disease genes.

Carpel

The stigma, style, and ovary enclosing the ovule.

Stigma

Sticky surface where pollen grains land

Ovary (Flower)

Contains the ovule and female gamete

Matures into a fruit after fertilization.

Receptacle

Supports floral parts

Seed

A mature ovule formed after fertilization, comprising an embryo, endosperm, and a protective outer testa.

Fruit

Contains and protects developing seeds and helps in dispersal.

Pollination

The transfer of pollen grains from the male anther to the female stigma.

Cross-Pollination

The transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower on one plant to the stigma of a flower on a different plant of the same species.

Self-Pollination

The transfer of pollen from an anther to the stigma of the same flower or another flower on the exact same plant.

Fertilization (Flowering Plants)

The fusion of two haploid cells (a male gamete and a female gamete) after pollination to form a diploid zygote.

Pollen Tube

A structure that develops when a pollen grain lands on the stigma, growing downward to carry the male gamete to the ovule for fertilization.

Grafting

An asexual propagation technique where tissues from one plant are inserted into another so that the vascular systems join together.

Rootstock

Superior root characteristics.

Scion

Shoot or stem selected for its superior fruit or flowering traits.

Cultivar

A plant variety with desirable characteristics selected by humans and maintained through propagation.

Clonal Propagation

The asexual mass-production of genetically identical plants that allows consistent superior quality, disease-free crops, and all-year propagation.

Micro-propagation

Small pieces of plant tissue are cultured to produce large quantities of identical, disease-free plants rapidly.

Transgenic Plants

Genetically engineered plants carrying a foreign transgene, allowing desired traits despite species boundaries

Hybrid Crops

Crops produced by cross-pollinating two inbred lines of distinct genotypes

Polyploid Plant

A plant containing more than two homologous sets of chromosomes (disturbances during mitosis or meiosis or chemical treatment)

= seedless fruits and larger plants, fruits, or flowers.

Mutation Breeding (Mutagenesis)

Exposing plant seeds to mutagens to create mutants w desirable traits.

Seed Banks

Storage facilities that preserve plant seeds to protect biodiversity against habitat loss, climate change, and over-exploitation + re-establishing into ecosystems

Kew's Millennium Seed Bank Project & International Seed Vault

Global conservation facilities established to maintain worldwide plant biodiversity and safeguard endangered and wild plant genetics from extinction.

Grains

Seed crops that store starch + provide B vitamins and minerals.

Pulses

Seeds that are sources of plant protein, B vitamins, and minerals + help regulate blood sugar levels.

Nuts

Energy-dense seeds contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Oil Seeds

Seeds with high concentrations of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Plant Growth Regulators

Substances used to manage and enhance natural growth processes