Name the technology that has helped scientists to propagate on a large scale the desired crops in a short duration. List the steps carried out to propagate the crops by the said technique.
Solution
Tissue culture is the technique that has helped scientists propagate the desired crops on a large scale in a short duration.
The following steps are carried out to propagate crops by tissue culture:
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Tissue culture is the process of developing a complete plant from a part of a plant. The plant part is called an explant.
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Explants can be grown in sterile conditions in special nutrient media to regenerate complete plants.
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Nutrient media contain a carbon source (such as sucrose), organic salts, vitamins, amino acids and phytohormones.
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Hence, propagation is achieved for a large number of plants in a short duration. This process is called micropropagation.
- All the plants obtained by tissue culture are called somaclones since they are genetically identical to each other as well as the parent plant.
