What is vegetative propagation? Explain the natural and artificial methods with examples.

1. 1 · Define. Vegetative propagation is the growth of new plants from a root, stem or leaf, without seeds.
2. 2 · Natural methods.
   • Root: sweet potato, dahlia.
   • Stem: potato (tuber), ginger (rhizome), onion (bulb), Colocasia (corm), grass (runner).
   • Leaf: Bryophyllum.
3. 3 · Artificial methods.
   • Cutting: rose, sugarcane.
   • Layering: jasmine.
   • Grafting: scion joined to stock, e.g. mango.
4. 4 · Draw grafting or layering. [Diagram: stock and scion tied together; or a bent jasmine branch under the soil with new roots]
5. 5 · Advantages and disadvantages. Fast and true to the parent; seedless plants can be grown. But there is no variation, and disease spreads easily.
6. 6 · Link to daily life. Sugarcane setts, banana suckers and grafted mango saplings are all vegetative propagation.
7. 7 · Close. So vegetative propagation gives quick, identical copies of useful plants.

Scoring tip: Give at least one example for every method. Missing examples is where most marks are lost.