Bisexual flowers, possessing both male and female reproductive organs, facilitate self-pollination or cross-pollination. Examples include hibiscus and lilies, enhancing reproductive flexibility in plant species.
Ravi cultivated mustard, a plant with bisexual flowers, on his farm. His plants were diseased due to a gene defect and therefore had reduced yield. Ravi removed the stamens from the diseased plants and also planted fresh disease-free mustard plants where he removed the pistils. How will Ravi’s strategy help in improving the yield of mustard?
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• Ravi made the bisexual flower unisexual thereby encouraging crosspollination instead of self-pollination.
• Cross-pollination will increase variation and thereby the chances of having more disease-free offspring
Ravi’s strategy involves removing the reproductive organs (stamens in one case and pistils in the other) from the mustard plants, which are suffering from a gene defect and experiencing reduced yield. This strategy is likely aimed at preventing self-pollination and promoting cross-pollination to introduce genetic diversity. Here’s how it may help improve the yield:
1. Prevention of Self-Pollination: Mustard plants have bisexual flowers, meaning they contain both male (stamens) and female (pistils) reproductive organs. By removing the stamens from one set of plants and pistils from another set, Ravi is preventing these plants from self-pollinating. Self-pollination can lead to the perpetuation of the gene defect, reducing genetic diversity and potentially resulting in lower yields.
2. Promotion of Cross-Pollination: By removing the stamens from some plants and pistils from others, Ravi is encouraging cross-pollination between different plants. This introduces genetic diversity by bringing together pollen and ovules from different individuals. Cross-pollination can lead to the production of seeds with a broader range of genetic traits, potentially including resistance to the gene defect or other advantageous characteristics.
3. Selection of Disease-Resistant Offspring: By allowing cross-pollination, Ravi increases the likelihood of obtaining offspring with a combination of traits that may include resistance to the gene defect or other disease-resistant characteristics. Over time, as Ravi continues to select and propagate plants with improved traits, the overall yield of disease-resistant mustard plants on his farm may increase.
4. Hybrid Vigor: Cross-pollination often results in hybrid vigor, where the offspring may exhibit enhanced qualities compared to the parent plants. This phenomenon can contribute to improved plant health, vigor, and productivity.
In summary, Ravi’s strategy of removing reproductive organs to prevent self-pollination and encourage cross-pollination is a form of selective breeding aimed at developing mustard plants with improved resistance to the gene defect and increased overall yield. This process may take several generations, but over time, it has the potential to lead to a more robust and disease-resistant mustard crop on Ravi’s farm.