Question

Explain micropropagation in plants.

Answer 1

Micropropagation is a method of producing a large number of plants from a small piece of plant tissue under sterile laboratory conditions.

1. A small part of a plant, called an explant, is taken from a healthy parent plant.
2. The explant is placed on a sterile nutrient medium containing necessary minerals and growth hormones.
3. The cells divide rapidly and form an undifferentiated mass of cells called a callus.
4. The callus develops shoots and roots under suitable conditions.
5. The young plantlets are transferred to soil after proper hardening.

Micropropagation is useful for rapid multiplication of plants and for producing uniform, disease-free plants.