Growing mulberry cuttings. Image credit wordpress.com
ZIMSEC O Level Combined Science Notes: Reproduction in plants: Growing plants using the vegetative reproduction method
Materials; trays of soil/sand or prepared garden beds, plant cuttings of sugar cane, mulberry, sweet potato cuttings etc
Method
Plant the cuttings into the soil. Image credit mikesbackyardnursary.com
- Cut the pieces of plant into sections.
- Make sure each section has a bud/eye
- Remove most of the leaves
- Plant the sections into the soil/sand/ or place in a container of water
- Place the mulberry sections upright into the soil/Plant the sugar can or sweet potato plant horizontally
- Make sure the that the sweet potato cuttings/sugar cane is covered with soil and make sure at least half the mulberry section is in the soil
- Record the number of cuttings you have planted
- Keep the soil moist over a period of weeks
Results
Shoots start to grow after a couple of weeks. Image credit waldeneffect.org
- The cuttings develop roots and start to grow after a couple of weeks
- Removing the leaves reduces the amount of water lost by the cuttings via transpiration
- Plants grow from the buds thus resulting in more plants growing than the cuttings planted
To access more topics go to the Combined Science Notes page.
