So far, we have seen the natural methods to follow vegetative propagation in plants. With the realisation that the plants can be propagated using their vegetative parts, simple methods to follow vegetative propagation have been developed. The most popular methods are cutting and by grafting.
Cuttings:
This is a method of vegetative propagation in which a portion of any vegetative part like stem, leaf or root is separated from a parent plant and placed in suitable soil and environmental conditions. The cuttings form roots and shoots develop in to new plants* Ex; Rose, Sugar cane, Hibiscus ('mandara'). For propagation by cuttings, material is available at all times. The method is simple. There is a high success rate, as adventitious roots will readily grow on many stems once they are separated from the parent plant.
When outside conditions are not suitable, plant cuttings can be grown with special equipment, or in green houses (with regulated temperature and humidity), in soils free from pathogenic organisms. Uniform distribution of water and nutrients help to grow the cuttings required for propagation. Herbaceous plants easily root than woody plants.
Propagation of plants by cutting uses either stem or root cuttings. In these methods before cutting a part of the plant for propagation, we should see that the plant has regions that can give rise-to whole plant. Propagation by stem cuttings involves a piece ot stem that is detached from the mother plant, which will have a few nodes. When this piece of stem is planted in suitable soil conditions, it grows into a new plant by developing roots. Cells in the cut port son will be active and produce new roots. Stem cuttings:
This is the most commonly adopted method of propagation of plants In m#st cases, cuttings are made from strong and mature stems. Ex: Hibiscus, Rose. These are called HARD WOOD CUTTINGS. In some plants the cuttings are prepared from semi hard wood and are called SEMI HARDWOOD CUTTINGS. Ex. Clerodendron ('pisinika'j, Tecoma (swama ganneru'). When cuttings, are taken from soft portion of the shoots as inDahlia, Geranium, they are known as SOFT WOOD CUTTINGS. In all these, the cuttings are taken from healthy plan' A month and slanting cut is made below the basal node. In sugar cane, a small portion of the stem consisting of anode is used to produce new plants. For rooting, soft wood cuttings are usually maintained in materials like vermiculite, which provide more aeration. Also this type of materials can be sterilised to maintain the cuttings free from any pathogenic organisms.
In Unit two, you have learnt that auxins help the cuttings to develop roots. Treatment with auxins reduces the time required for rooting. Auxins, like indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) indole butyric acid (IB A), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), are widely used in propagating by stem cuttings.
Root cuttings:
Plants that form adventitious buds on the roots can be propagated by root cuttings. The cut roots are kept in coarse sand for further development. Ex: Carrot