Polyembryony is of considerable significance in plant breeding and horticulture. Adventive embryos of plants like mango and citrus Jhave been successfully used to raise the crop. Such embryos not only inherit the characters of the maternal plant but also provide uniform seedlings as obtained through vegetative propagation by cuttings.
However the nucellar seedlings of citrus furnish the better clones of the orchard stock than the cuttings. This is because of the following reasons:
(1) The nucellar seedlings have tap root and, therefore, develop a better root system.
(2) The nucellar seedlings show a restoration of the vigour lost after repeated propagation by cuttings.
(3) The nucellar embryos are free from disease.
Polyembryony has also been a source for obtaining haploid seedlings and plants. Haploids are of great importance in genetics and plant breeding. The haploids obtained by anther culture can be made diploid by treating with colchicine.
