Plant propagation A Presentation ByMr. Allah dad KhanVisiting Professor the University of Agriculture Peshawar allahdad52@gmail.com

4. 1. Why is plant propagation important?
2. What is the difference between sexual and
asexual propagation?
3. How do you successfully direct seed outdoors?
4. What are the factors involved in planting seeds
for transplanting?
5. What are the various methods of stem cutting
propagation?
6. What are the various types of growing media
used for cuttings?
7. What is grafting and what are three common
methods?
8. What is the difference between separation
and division in plant propagation?
9. Why is tissue culture important?

5.  Plant propagation- reproduction of new plants from
seeds and vegetative parts, such as leaves, stems, or
roots
 Produce new and better breeds of plants faster
 Can reproduce exact duplicates of desirable plants
 Can increase quality of plant and food items

6.  Sexual propagation
› Reproduction of plants with the use of seeds
› Requires the union of pollen and egg to produce the
seed
› Requires extensive research to get best crossing of
plants for the desired outcome
› May require years to produce the desired seed

7.  Asexual propagation
› Reproduction of new plants from existing stem,
leaf or root of parent plant
› No seed is formed
› Produces an exact duplicate of the parent plant
called a clone
› Can produce new plants from plants that are
difficult to produce from seed

8.  Stem cuttings
 Leaf cuttings
 Leaf-bud cuttings
 Root cuttings
 Grafting
 Budding
 Layering
 Separation and division
 Tissue culture

9.  Direct seeding
› Seeds are planted directly into the soil
outdoors where the plants are intended
to be grown

10. 1. Site selection- adequate sunlight & soil
drainage
2. Seedbed preparation- need loose, fine soil free
of weeds
3. Planting date- determined by germination
temperature required by seeds
4. Planting depth and spacing- need to be sown
at proper planting depths and spacing
1. If unknown, plant 3-4x width of seed
2. % germination, conditions, and mature size affect
spacing
5. Moisture
1. Water when first planted
2. Keep soil moist, but not wet

11.  Indirect seeding
› Seeds planted indoors or in greenhouse in
containers of germination medium
› Once germinated and grow into seedling,
then transplanted outdoors into permanent
location

12.  Seed coat
› Often needs to be scarified, broken or
softened
 Embryo
› May need certain temperature exposure
called stratification

13.  Row planting
› Requires more space
› Allows for easier transplanting & reduces
chances for disease
 Broadcasting
› Evenly distributed over surface of media or
soil

14.  Moisture- proper moisture necessary
› Mist after planting and when media dries
 Temperature- most seeds germinate best
at temperature of 70 to 80 F
 Light- needed by some plants, move
seedlings to direct sunlight

15.  Rotting of stems at soil line due to fungal
disease
 To prevent
› Avoid warm, wet media
› Use sterile soil and containers
› Use a fungicide drench when transplanting

16.  Handle carefully to avoid injury of the
stem, leaves, or roots
 Need to be hardened-off
› Exposure to cooler temperatures and less
frequent watering to prepare for transplant
shock

17.  Stem cuttings- a portion of the stem that
contains a terminal bud or lateral buds is
cut and placed in growing media to
produce roots

18.  Softwood cuttings
› from soft, succulent growth
› 3-5” in length with 2 or 3 nodes
› Cut at angle @ ¼” below a node
 Herbaceous cuttings
› also considered softwood cuttings
› 3-4 inches long and contain several
leaves

19.  Semi-hard cuttings
› From woody, broad-leaved plants, new
shoots
 Hardwood cuttings
› From one-year-old growth, deciduous or
evergreens
 Conifer cuttings
› Also considered hardwood cuttings
› Taken from narrow leaf evergreens in
early winter and may require several
months to produce adequate roots

20.  From plant
 consists of a leaf blade or leaf blade with
petiole attached

21.  From plant
 consists of a leaf, petiole, and a short
piece of stem with the lateral bud

22.  From root pieces of young plants during
late winter or early spring

23.  Peat moss and perlite mixture
› Good moisture retention and yet provides
good aeration
 Vermiculite
› Good moisture retention
 Sand
› Good aeration
 Sand and peat moss mixture
› Good mix of moisture retention and aeration

24.  Utilizes scion and understock (rootstock)
› Scion- short piece of stem with two or more
buds
› Understock (rootstock)- lower portion of the
graft containing the root system

25.  Process of connecting two plants or
plant parts together in such a way that
they will unite and continue to grow as
one plant

26.  Whip and tongue
› Joins small scion and rootstock together,
usually under an inch in diameter
› Used for fruit trees in the winter
 Cleft
› Joins small scion to larger rootstock
› Usually done in winter
 Bark
› Similar to cleft grafts
› Done in early spring when bark easily
separates from wood

27.  Similar to grafting except that scion
wood is reduced to a single bud
 Methods
› T-Budding- taking buds from one plant
and inserting them under bark of
rootstock
› Patch budding- bud is “patched” onto
stem when bark is thick

28.  Method of asexual propagation where
roots are formed on a stem while it is still
attached to the parent plant

29.  Simple layering- branches are bent to
the ground and portions of branches are
covered with soil
› Terminal ends are left exposed
› Covered portion must have a bud or buds
and must be injured- roots form in this area

30.  dig a shallow trench near the plant and
place a stem attached to the plant in
the trench. Cover it with 2-5 inches of
soil. After a few weeks, roots develop
and may be removed from parent

31.  parent plant is pruned to within 2-4
inches of ground during its dormant
season. In spring, new shoots are cut
back to 2-4 inches. In summer, soil is
mounded over half of new shoots. They
will form roots in the mound of soil and
may be separated from parent plant.

32.  remove a portion of the bark on the
stem and cover with moistened
sphagnum moss. Then cover with plastic
to prevent drying out; roots should form
in this area

33.  Separation
› Method in which natural structures are removed
from parent plant and planted to grow
 Division
› Method in which parts of plants are cut into
sections that will grow into new plants naturally
 Plant structures that can be separated or
divided
› Bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers, plant crowns

34.  Micropropagation
› Also known as tissue culture
› Involves taking a small piece of tissue or a
group of cells from the parent plant and
growing it on a nutrient-rich agar gel in a
sterile environment to produce hundreds of
new plants in a short amount of time