Ginger is commonly propagated asexually through rootstalk cuttings due to its low genetic diversity when reproducing asexually. Asexual propagation has the advantages of producing clones of the parent plant with identical desirable traits and allowing plants to bypass the seedling phase to reach maturity faster. However, asexual propagation can impact biodiversity and make entire crops susceptible to disease if the clone is disease-prone.

1. HAWASSA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
SCHOOL OF PLANT AND HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE
PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE OF PLANT PROPAGATION INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Propagation option for Ginger and its advantage and disadvantage
Submitted By
Teamireab Desta………..2355/13
Submitted To
Mr. Ashenafi
Submission Date
January 03 2015 E.C

2. CONTENTS
Topics Page
 Introduction………………………………………….3
 Propagation option…………………………………5
 Advantage of Asexual propagation……………..8
 Disadvantage…………………………………………10
 Summary………………………………………………11
 Reference……………………………………………...12
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3. INTRODUCTION
 Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscor) belongs to the family
Zingiberaceae. The plant grows to a height of
approximately 60 - 120 cm (2 - 4 ft.).
 Ginger is a rhizome.
 This means that it has an underground stem which often
sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. This crop is
grown for its highly scented rhizome.
 Its sweet, pungent and aromatic rhizome is used as a
spice in culinary preparations, as a flavoring agent in
beverages and in a number of traditional medicines.
 Ginger plants will not tolerate waterlogged soils.
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4. INTRO…………………
 The ginger is commercially available in three forms:
i) Fresh rhizome
ii) Processed: dried, ground, candied
iii) Pure oils
 The fresh produce obtains a high price on the local market
compared to other underground type crops.
 Ginger can be grown on many soil types, but a sandy clay
loam or sandy loam soil will encourage better rhizome shape
and size.
 Avoid planting in flood prone areas. This crop grows well at a
pH of 5.6 - 6.5.
 Ginger plants require an average annual rainfall of between
250 and 300 cm for optimal growth and development and
require additional irrigation where rainfall is not adequate.
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5. A. PROPAGATION OPTION FOR GINGER
 Plant propagation is the process of increasing the number
of plants of a particular species or cultivar.
 Propagation can be via sexual or asexual means.
 Over the years, horticulturalists have developed asexual
propagation methods that use vegetative plant parts.
 Asexual plant propagation methods produce new plants
from vegetative parts of the original plant, such as the
leaves, stems and roots. These methods are generally
referred to as vegetative propagation. Many plants can
reproduce this way naturally, but vegetative propagation
can also be artificially induced.
 This allows plants to be created in ways that nature cannot
duplicate.
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6. PROPAGATION OPTION………
 Ginger is propagated by planting rootstalk cuttings and has been
under this type of cultivation for so long that it no longer goes to seed.
 The dried ginger rhizomes are irregular in shape, branched or palmate.
 Ginger is a modified, underground stem that will spread through its
steam vegetative. There is no propagation of ginger by its root or leaf.
 Ginger is propagated asexually using pieces of rhizomes called
“settes”.
 Sets are produced by cutting a small 3–6 cm from a living rhizome.
 Each piece should possess at least one living bud which will produce
shoots.
 The flowers of the plants are usually sterile and rarely set seeds.
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7. CONTI……..
 Ginger has low genetic diversity because it reproduces
asexually by vegetative propagation.
 Vegetative propagation is a form of asexual reproduction
in multicellular plants in which the new plants are created
from the roots, stems ,or leaves of the parent plant.
 Zingiber officinale primarily produces from spreading the
rhizome. The stem generated from the plants'
rhizome forms a bud that becomes a complete plant, a
clone of the original plant. The new plant arises from
absolutely no production of spores or seeds!
 Some primitive Zingiber species including Z.
neesanum and Z. nimmonii do reproduce sexually by
means of seeds.
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8. B. ADVANTAGE OF ASEXUAL PROPAGATION
 The main advantage of vegetative propagation methods
is that the new plants contain the genetic material of only
one parent, so they are essentially clones of the parent
plant.
 This means that, once you have a plant with desirable
traits, you can reproduce the same traits indefinitely, as
long as the growing conditions remain similar.
 This is especially important for commercial growers who
want to reproduce the highest-quality plants and ensure
consistency of a variety of plant or crop for sale.
 This can also help to maintain consistent quality and
taste in products made from plants or crops.
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9. CONTI…………
 With vegetative propagation, plants also bypass the immature
seedling phase and therefore reach the mature phase sooner.
This can save a lot of time and money for commercial plant
production.
 It also includes:-
 The rapid production of individuals in large quantities
 Bypassing the sexual phase can help a plant in times of
dryness since motile
 Sperm requires water to fertilize the egg
 Can be cloned for economic purposes
 It eliminates the necessity of seeds.
 Damaged plants can be easily rehabilitated by propagation.
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10. C. DISADVANTAGE OF ASEXUAL PROPAGATION
 The main disadvantage is the potential to impact on
biodiversity of a species.
 Also, if a particular plant clone is susceptible to certain
diseases, there is potential to lose entire crops, such as
the impact of kiwifruit disease Psa.
 One way to protect against these problems is to establish
a genetic bank of seeds or plants (a germplasm
collection), which is common practice in various cropral
sectors.
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11. SUMMARY
 Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscor) belongs to the family Zingiberaceae.
 The plant grows to a height of approximately 60 - 120 cm (2 - 4 ft.).
 Ginger plants will not tolerate waterlogged soils.
 The ginger is commercially available in three forms:
i) Fresh rhizome
ii) Processed: dried, ground, candied
iii) Pure oils
 Ginger is propagated by planting rootstalk cuttings and has been under this type of cultivation for
so long that it no longer goes to seed.
 Ginger is propagated asexually using pieces of rhizomes called “settes”.
 Ginger has low genetic diversity because it reproduces asexually by vegetative propagation.
 The main advantage of vegetative propagation methods is that the new plants contain the genetic
material of only one parent, so they are essentially clones of the parent plant.
 With vegetative propagation, plants also bypass the immature seedling phase and therefore reach
the mature phase sooner. This can save a lot of time and money for commercial plant production.
 The main disadvantage is the potential to impact on biodiversity of a species.
 Also, if a particular plant clone is susceptible to certain diseases, there is potential to lose entire
crops, such as the impact of kiwifruit disease Psa.
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12. REFERENCE
Ginger Production book; Rishi Mohan
Singh
Advantage and disadvantage of Vegetative
production; Abdellah BENBYA
Asexual Reproduction class 12 Biology;
Shekhar Suman
Zingiber Officinale (Ginger); Chelsey
Rodger
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