UPSC Prelims 2014 · Question 47 of 100

UPSC Prelims 2014 question on Vegetative Propagation

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding vegetative propagation of plants?

1. Vegetative propagation produces clonal population.

2. Vegetative propagation helps in eliminating the virus.

3. Vegetative propagation can be practiced most of the year.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: C. 1 and 3 only

Verdict

The answer is 1 and 3 only. Vegetative propagation gives clonal offspring and can be done through much of the year, but it does not eliminate viruses.

Analysis

Statement 1 is CORRECT. Offspring arise from somatic tissue of a single parent, so the population is genetically identical, which is what clonal means. Statement 3 is CORRECT. Because the method does not depend on flowering and seed set, it can be practised over most of the year rather than in one season. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. If the parent carries a virus, the virus is carried into every propagule, so vegetative propagation multiplies infection rather than removing it. Virus elimination requires meristem tip culture, a different technique.

Source

Science Learning material on vegetative plant propagation.

How to crack it

Reason from the mechanism. Vegetative propagation copies parental tissue, so everything present in the parent, including pathogens, is copied too. Any statement claiming that a copying process removes something should immediately look wrong. Keep the contrast with tissue culture explicit: micropropagation from meristem tips can give virus free planting material precisely because the meristem is the one region viruses tend not to reach.

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