Crop science 1: Plant Propagation & Nursery Management

 Agriculture and horticulture are vital sciences as the suffice the very basic need of food
for the human beings.
 Qualitative and quantitative food can essentially be produced from healthy plants which
in turn are produced only when their seedlings are vigorous and healthy.

Types of flowers

1. Staminate – male, only

stamens
2. Pistillate – female, only
pistils

Hermaphroditic – perfect,
both stamen & pistil
1. Monoecious – staminate
and pistillate flowers on the
same plant, e.g. cucurbits
2. Dioecious – staminate and
pistillate flowers on different
plants, e.g. papaya

Male flower (left) and female flower (right) of

cucumber.
“Monoecious Flower”

 Nursery is consequently the basic need of horticulture

 Plant propagation techniques and practices is the core of the horticulture nurseries. Plant
propagation reproduce and multiply by propagation, so technically you could propagate any
type of plant that you have in your collection.
 Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from existing ones
 Role of mother plants is very primary and important. The fate of nursery depends on quality
and truthfulness of mother plants.
 A good nursery does not depend on others procurement of mother plants. Mother plants are
required for both stock and scion. Mother plants should be selected on the basis of its
genetic traits and other factor like availability adaptation in the growing environment.

Biology of Plant Propagation

 The natural world is covered by populations of many different kinds of plants that have
evolved over eons of time. We identify these as species, although there are other divisions
that will be described in this text.
 These populations can more or less maintain themselves from generation to generation
because of their natural genetic characteristics. If not, they evolve into other variants or
become extinct.
 Plant propagation and plant breeding both involve genetic selection. The role of the plant
breeder is to recreate patterns of genetic variation in its many forms from which to select
new kinds of plants useful to humans.
 The role of the plant propagator, on the other hand, is to multiply these selected cultivars
and to do it in such a manner as to maintain the genetic characteristics of the original
population. To do both requires an understanding of genetic principles and procedures.
 Plants reproduce and multiply by propagation, so technically you could propagate any type
of plant that you have in your collection.

Types of Plant Propagation

 Sexual (seeds) - theoretically possible most of the plants.
 Asexual Propagation (vegetative parts)
a. Bulb - form lateral buds from the base of the mother bulb, which produce new
smaller bulbs or bulbels in subsequent years

b. Rhizomes - are root-like stems that grow horizontally under the ground. New roots
and shoots form at the nodes with shoots growing upwards to form new plantlets.
Lateral buds grow out to form new rhizomes. Examples include iris and root ginger.

c. Stolons or runners are horizontal stems that grow above the ground, for example,
strawberries. Tiny plantlets form along the stolon, and roots form where they touch the
ground. When the connection with the parent plant breaks, the new plant becomes
independent.

d. Tubers are swollen portions of an underground stem that store food so a plant can
lie dormant over the winter, for example, potatoes. Axillary buds, commonly known as
‘eyes’, form over the surface of the tuber and produce shoots that grow into a new plant
the following year.

e. Cutting - is a piece that has been cut off a mother plant and then caused to grow into
a whole plant. Often this involves a piece of stem that is treated with hormones to
encourage new roots to form before planting. Sometimes root cuttings with buds on
them will produce new shoots when pressed directly into soil.
 f. Marcotting –bark is sliced in a ring form of about 3-5 cm in length. A thick plaster of
grafting clay (clay, cow dung, finely cut hay and water) to wrapped up with rag and tied
on to the debarked portion. Care is taken to keep the gootee moist. In about 2-3 months,
the roots emerge from the gootee and cut below the plaster for propagation. Lemon,
orange, guava and litchi.

g. Grafting- this method involves joining a stem piece (as in grafting) or a single bud (as
in budding) onto the stem of a plant that has roots. The stem piece or bud is called the
scion, and the plant with roots is called the rootstock. Grafting is commonly used to
produce fruit trees sometimes with more than one variety of the same fruit species
growing from the same stem.

h. Tissue culture - tiny fragments of plants are treated with plant hormones in a sterile
growing medium. The hormones stimulate the growth of a callus. A mass of cells that
forms at a wounded surface of a plant. Callus tissue is important when propagating
plants because of its ability to generate new plantlets., from which a new seedling can
grow. This method is used to produce large numbers of identical seedlings.

Advantages of Plant Tissue Culture

 An indefinite number of plants can be raised from a small mass of parental tissue.
 It is useful for obtaining virus free healthy plants.
 An unlimited number of plants are produced within a relatively short time.

Advantages of Vegetative Propagation

 It makes possible propagation of plants that have lost their capacity to produce seeds. E.g.,
banana, rose
 Plants like Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) which produce only a small quantity of seeds
are propagated vegetatively.
 It is a more rapid, easier.
 The plants produced will have the same characters and the hereditary potentials as the
parent plant. The beneficial characters will be preserved in the next generation.
 Most of the ornamental plants are propagated by vegetative reproduction.
 Grafting enables the physical and physiological joining of 2 separate individuals for the best
economic advantage.
 It is a method to get rid of pathogen from any part of plant.
 Vegetative propagation is very important for plants with reduced power of sexual
reproduction, long dormant period of seed or poor viability. Under these conditions this
method is the only way of propagation of the plant

Disadvantages of Vegetative Propagation

 Neither can good qualities be introduced nor can bad characters be eliminated.
 Subsequent generations show a general fall in vigour and vitality.
 Adaptability to changed environment decreases due to the absence of variations.
 Overcrowding and severe competition among the daughter plants results in low yield.

SEED GERMINATION
What is seed?
 fertilized, matured ovule of a flowering plant
 an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering
 small, hard part of a plant from which a new plant grows.
 An encapsulated plant embryo

Parts of a Seed

Three primary parts of a seed

 Seed coat consists of one or more protective layers that encase the seed
 Endosperm is a source of stored food, consisting primarily of starches.
 Embryo is the young multicellular organism before it emerges from the seed.

1.) Seed Coat

 They are the protective outer covering of a seed that is usually hard, thick, and brownish
in color.
Functions
•Protecting the seed from physical and mechanical damage
•Preventing the seed from germination even under favorable conditions of growth (seed
dormancy)
•Preventing the excessive loss of water from the seeds
•Acting as a physical barrier against the entry of parasites

The seed coat is formed from the outer covering of the ovule called the
integument. It usually contains two layers:
a. Testa – the thick outer layer
b. Tegmen – the delicate inner layer.

A seed coat has the following four parts:

a) Micropyle – the small opening present at one end of the seed coat.
b) Funiculus – the seed stalk with which the seed is attached to the fruit body, the integument.
c) Hilum – the region from which the seed breaks off from the fruit, leaving a scar.
d) Raphe – the base of the funiculus that is fused with the integument

2.) Endosperm
 It is a tissue that is rich in oil, starch, and protein.

Depending on the presence or absence of endosperm, seeds are of

two types:
a.) Non-endospermic or exalbuminous seeds – Characterized by the complete
absence of the endosperm, such as the seeds of the pea plant, groundnut, and gram.
b.) Endospermic or albuminous seeds – Characterized by the presence of the
endosperm, such as the seeds of millets, palms, and lilies.

Functions
 Storing of reserve foods that provide nourishment to the developing plant.
 Protecting the embryo, the next part of the seed, by acting as the mechanical barrier.

3.) Embryo
 They are the young plant that is developing inside the seed coat. An embryo contains
the underdeveloped tissues of leaves, stem, and roots of a plant.

Parts of an Embryo of a Seed

•Epicotyl – The tiny shoot of an embryo, from which the entire shoot system develops. The tip
of the epicotyl is called plumule.
•Hypocotyl – The stage of transition for the growing shoot and root of the embryo
•Radicle – The tiny root of the embryo
•Cotyledons – They are the leaves of the embryo that provide nourishment to the developing
plant.

There are two types of cotyledons present in flowering

plants:

a) monocotyledonous or monocots – embryo with one cotyledon

b) dicotyledonous or dicots – embryo with two cotyledons.

Functions
• Giving rise to a new complete new plant
• Storing food and nourishing the baby plant

Three biological classes of seeds according to the time (Ewart, 1908)

1. Microbiotic: seed life span not exceeding 3 years

2. Mesobiotic: seed life span from 3 to 15 years
3. Macrobiotic: seed life span from 15 to over 100years

Two major classes of seed are recognized (Roberts, 1973):

  Orthodox. Seeds which can be dried down to a low MC of around 5% (wet basis) and
successfully stored at low or sub-freezing temperatures for long periods.

 Recalcitrant. Seeds which cannot survive drying belowa relatively high moisture
content (often in the range20–50% wet basis) and which cannot be successfully stored
for long periods.

What is Seed Germination?

 It is the process by which a plant grows from a seed.
 It is emergence of normal seedlings from the seeds under ideal conditions of light,
temperature, moisture, oxygen and nutrients.
 It is emergence of radicle and plumule through seed coat
 It is a very complex process as it involves many biochemical, physiological and
morphological changes within a seed.
GERMINATION PROCESS
1. 2.

Imbibition

3. 4.

5. 6.
7. 8.

Respiration
 It is the process of oxidizing food to release energy inside cells.
 It is the process during which simpler substances and liberate carbon dioxide and
energy.
 The compound used or oxidized during respiration is called a respiratory substrate.
 The chemical reaction for cellular respiration is:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H20 + Energy (ATP molecules)
 CO2 is a measurable end product of the reaction. The amount of CO2 created indicates
the rate of cellular respiration occurring inside and organism.
 The process of cellular respiration occurs in the mitochondria of all eukaryotic cells.
Three stages of Cellular Respiration

Why Respiration is
important?
 Provides energy needed
 Aerobic respiration returns
CO2 to the atmosphere to be used
again in photosynthesis.
 Convert Carbon dioxide into
Oxygen

Two types of Respiration

 Anaerobic Respiration
 It is used when there is not enough oxygen for aerobic respiration.
glucose ---lactic acid (+energy released)
 It also takes place in plants and some microbial cells in the presence of little or no
oxygen.

Aerobic Respiration
 Is the chemical reaction used to release energy from glucose.
Glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water (+energy)

Two Types of Germination

a.) Epigeal Germination – the cotyledons are brought above the ground due to the elongation
of hypocotyl

b.) Hypogeal germination – the cotyledon remain the soil due to the elongation of epicotyl (e.g.
pea, wheat, maize).

Requirements of Seed Germination

External factors: Internal factors:
 Water  Seed viability
 Temperature  Genotype
 Oxygen or aeration  Seed maturation
 Light or darkness  Seed dormancy

 Seed viability may be defined as the capability of the seed to germinate and produce
a normal seedling for some specific period of time.

Seed viability test

•Chemical method
•Excised embryo method
•Germination test method

Seed Viability test (%) = (G+F+A) / X * 100

Where:
F = number of fresh seed
A = number of abnormal seed
G = number of seed germinated
X = number of seed sown (excluding empty and infested)

Percentage Germination
The percentage of germination indicates the proportion by number of seeds that have produced
a number of seedlings within a specified period under favorable conditions. It is calculated by
using the following formula;
Number of Seeds Germinated = No. of Seed germinated/ No. of seed sown x 100%

Seed dormancy incapacity of a viable seed to germinate under favorable conditions.

Causes of Seed dormancy

•Impermeable seed coat
•Mechanically resistant seed coat
•Rudimentary embryo
•Dormant embryo
•Insufficient development

Treatments for Seed Dormancy

1. Scarification
2. Temperature Fluctuation
3. Prechilling
4. Predrying or Preheating
5. Prewashing/ Soaking
6. Plant Growth Regulators (GA3, Potassium Nitrate, etc.)

SEED STORAGE
 To maintain the seed in good physical and physiological condition from harvesting
through to planting by the farmer.
 Provision of optimum conditions for crop growth and health is fundamental;
nevertheless, the greatest impact on seed viability and vigour is made by harvesting,
threshing/extraction, drying, cleaning, transportation and storage.

TYPES OF SEED STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

1. Short- term storage of farm-saved seed or community seed
banks
2. Short- term storage of early-generation seed stocks
3. Short- term storage of commercial seed stocks
4. Storage of carryover seeds (both early-generation and
commercial seed)
5. Long- term storage of germplasm seeds (genetic resources)
  The ideal condition for seed storage is usually the combination of low seed moisture
content and low storage temperature.
 Both factors affect the risk of spoilage of stored seed: high moisture content produces
humidity, encouraging enzyme activity and the growth of storage fungi; moderate-to-high
temperatures promote fungal growth and insect development, and enhance enzyme
activity.
 The safe moisture content depends on the storage period, type of storage structure, kind
of seed and type of packaging material used. For example, MC 10% may be acceptable
for cereal seed in open storage, but it should be reduced to 4–8% if the seed is kept in
sealed containers.

NOTE:
That there is no absolute line between “no spoilage” and “spoilage”
of seed in storage.