Plant Propagation Flashcards

Which type of cutting is taken from the actively growing, soft tip of a stem and roots most quickly but wilts most easily?

Answer: Softwood cutting

Softwood cuttings taken from new, non-lignified stem tips root rapidly because cells are actively dividing, but require high humidity to prevent wilting before roots form.

Stratification of seeds is a pre-germination treatment that involves:

Answer: Exposing seeds to a period of cold and moist conditions to break dormancy

Cold-moist stratification mimics winter conditions, breaking physiological dormancy in many temperate woody plants so they germinate in spring.

Scarification of seeds is performed to:

Answer: Break or weaken the hard seed coat to allow water imbibition

Scarification physically or chemically abrades the impermeable seed coat of hard-seeded species, allowing water and oxygen to enter and initiation of germination.

Grafting is a vegetative propagation technique primarily used to:

Answer: Combine desirable scion traits with rootstock vigor, disease resistance, or adaptability

Grafting unites a scion (desired cultivar) with a rootstock chosen for vigor, soil adaptation, pest resistance, or size-controlling properties, combining the best traits of each.

Auxin (IBA or NAA) is applied to stem cuttings to:

Answer: Promote adventitious root formation

Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) are synthetic auxins that stimulate the formation of adventitious roots at the base of cuttings.

Tissue culture (micropropagation) is preferred for propagating some plant species because it:

Answer: Produces large numbers of genetically uniform, disease-free plants rapidly

Tissue culture propagates thousands of identical, pathogen-free plantlets from tiny explants in sterile conditions, enabling rapid large-scale production of superior clones.