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| Artificial Vegetative Propagation or Cloning |
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| Vegetative propagation produces the next generation that is genetically identical to the parent. Such an organism that is genetically identical to the parent is called a clone. In case of plants with advantageous characteristics, the characteristics can be preserved by producing clones. This is particularly useful to agriculturists and horticulturists in order to get the best crop and uniform yield every time. |
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| There are various ways of carrying out artificial propagation of plants. Cutting, layering, grafting and budding are some of the traditional methods whereas tissue culture is a recent technology. |
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| Cutting involves removing a piece of the parent plant - stem, root or leaf, and planting it in a suitable medium. At first roots are produced and then the shoot with the leaves. If a stem is taken, it must contain the nodal region. In some cases, rooting hormone may be required to initiate root formation. |
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| For example: |
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 Stem cutting is commonly done for rose, sugarcane, banana, geranium, etc., |
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Root cutting is done for dahlia |
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Leaf cuttings are used for African violets. |
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| Layering is the method of inducing certain branches of the parent plant to produce roots by bending and pegging them to the ground around the parent plant leaving the tips exposed. Once the roots develop the branch is then cut off from the parent body. |
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| The branch that produces the roots is called the layer. It is a natural method in plants such as black raspberries. However, it is induced in plants like Jasminum, Rhododendron, strawberries, Magnolia, etc. |
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| It is the transfer of a part of one plant to the stump of another plant. The part taken from a plant is a portion of the stem with many buds. This portion is called scion and is selected for the quality of its fruit. The stump to which the scion is attached is called the stock. Stock is selected for qualities such as disease resistance and hardiness. |
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| Grafting by Stem Cutting |
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| The cut ends of both the scion and stock are shaped such that they complement each other and their cambial tissues are close to each other. The two cut ends are brought together and covered with grafting wax. After some time, the tissues of the scion and the stock become continuous. The plant bears flowers and fruits characteristic of the scion. |
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| It is commonly practised on apple trees and on such plants which either do not produce viable seeds or the seeds which have a lot of variation. |
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| It is a variation of the grafting method explained above. In this method, the scion is a bud along with some bark. A 'T'-shaped cut is made on the stock into which the scion is inserted and bound with a tape. |
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| Three Stages of Bud Grafting - Method of Cleft Grafting |
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| The bud, once fixed, gives rise to new branches. For example, bud grafting is done on roses, plums, peaches, pears, citrus, etc. |
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