Prelims 2014 · archive
MediumWhich of the following statements is/are correct regarding vegetative propagation of plants?
- 1.Vegetative propagation produces clonal population.
- 2.Vegetative propagation helps in eliminating the virus.
- 3.Vegetative propagation can be practiced most of the year.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 are correct, so the answer is (c). Vegetative propagation uses a single parent, so the offspring are genetically identical clones, and it does not depend on flowering or seed set. It does not remove viruses: a virus in the mother plant is carried into the new plants. Virus-free plants are obtained by meristem culture in the laboratory.
- ✓ 1. New plants arise from the vegetative parts of a single parent. They are genetically identical to it and so form a clonal population.
- ✗ 2. Vegetative propagation passes diseases and pests from the mother plant to the new plants through the planting material, and viruses go with them. Virus elimination needs meristem culture (a tissue-culture technique). The meristem stays free of virus even in an infected plant, so it can be grown in vitro to give virus-free plants.
- ✓ 3. It does not depend on flowering or seed set. Methods such as grafting can multiply plants through most of the year. For example, wedge grafting can multiply guava plants rapidly throughout the year, both in greenhouses and in the open.
- ✓ (c) Statements 1 and 3 are correct and statement 2 is wrong, so the answer is '1 and 3 only'.
- ✗ (d) This option is tempting because meristems raised in tissue culture are virus-free. That is micropropagation from meristems, not ordinary vegetative propagation, which carries viruses forward.
Remember · Vegetative propagation gives clones, is largely season-independent and carries viruses forward. Virus-free plants are obtained through meristem culture (tissue culture), because the meristem is free of virus.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Exploration, Ch 11 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 10 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 9 · Exploration, Chapter 11 “The key point about this type of reproduction is that it involves only one parent and hence, produces genetically identical”
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 10 “Even if the plant is infected with a virus, the meristem (apical and axillary) is free of virus. Hence, one can remove the meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain virus-free plants.”
- National Horticulture Board – Handbook of Seed and Planting Material Testing Manuals ↗ “The vegetative propagation of fruit crops makes them vulnerable to transmission of several diseases and pests through the plant material. … This technique has a tremendous potential for multiplying guava plants rapidly throughout the year both in greenhouse and under open conditions.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2014, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·