Self-pollination: Type, Advantages and Disadvantages

Before knowing about self-pollination, we will have to read a little about pollination so that the concept of self-pollination will be clear. You can jump directly to your topic through the table of contents.

Introduction to Pollination

Flowers, Hey friends what comes to your mind when you think of flowers would it be the fragrance and beauty?

Flowers keep our surroundings fresh and attractive and in turn please our minds we are behind the usual feelings we know flowers are responsible for the development of a new plant a flower is called the Reaper active unit of a plant.

The male part of a flower is called a Stamen and the female part is called a pistil. The male part includes an Anther and a filament

The female part includes a stigma, style, ovary, and ovules. When both male and female parts are present in a flower it is referred to as a perfect flower.

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if a flower has either a male or female part it is referred to as an imperfect flower.

In this flower the tiny particles stick to the anther, well they are called pollen grains. Which are produced by the anther.

Do you want to know what happens in a flower when the pollen grains land on the stigma, they germinate and grow through, Where the pollen grains fuse with the ovules of the flower forming the seed that later develops into a new plant?

The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma is called pollination. This pollination results in the formation of various end products such as grains vegetables and fruits.

Type of Pollination

There are two types of pollination namely

• self-pollination
• cross-pollination

What is the difference between self pollination and cross pollination

self-pollination does not require the external agency to transfer the pollen grains while cross-pollination requires external agencies like wind or insects to carry the pollen grains from one plant to another In this lesson we will discuss self-pollination in detail. How to Grow Banana Trees from Banana

what is self pollination

self-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma of the same flower or genetically similar flower of the same plant. there are two kinds of self-pollination

• Autogamy
• Geitonogamy

Autogamy

Autogamy when pollen grains move from the anthers to the stigma inside the same flower it is called Autogamy. It is also known as zero gamy. This kind of pollination occurs in a bisexual flower examples include rice, wheat, peas, etc

Geitonogamy

Geitonogamy This type of pollination occurs in the plant which has several flowers on a single stem. When the pollen grains from one flower deposit on the stigma of another flower located on the same plant. it is called Geitonogamy. Examples include orchismascula, Platanthera chlorantha, etc.

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Plant Mechanisms Promoting Self-Pollination

A self-pollinated flower commonly exhibits one of the following adaptations of self-pollination that is bisexuality or hermaphroditism, cleistogamy, and homogamy.

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Bisexuality or Hermaphroditism

Bisexuality or hermaphroditism self-pollination occurs easily in bisexual plants since they have both male and female units in the same flower.

Cleistogamy

Cleistogamy again represents the characteristic of a flower where pollination and fertilization take place in an unopened flower such a type of flower is called a Cleistogamous flower.

Such flowers are bisexual, very small, colorless and the not secrete nectar or honey. common examples include beans peas wheat rice.4 Types of Pruning Cuts

Homogamy

Homogamy is a condition where both the male and female organs of a flower mature at the same time in such flowers the anther and the stigma bend or fold to attach together. some of the homogamy plans are vinca mirabilis, potato, and sunflower.

Position of the anther in certain plant species the anthers surround the stigmas in such a way that self-pollination occurs without any hindrances.

in some plants, the flower petals enclose the stigma and stamens in such a way that allows self-pollination examples include blackgram, greengram chickpea, and soybean.Air Layering Fruit Trees | Clone a fruit tree

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Mechanisms that prevent self-pollination

The following mechanism occurs in the plants that prevent self-pollination

Photogyny

Photogyny represents the phenomenon in which the male part matures before the female part or vice versa. this prevents the contact of pollen grains and the stigma of the same flower.

Morphological

Morphological sometimes in the imperfect flower, the anther is present below the stigma in such flower self-pollination will not occur .

Self-in-compatibility

Self-in-compatibility in some flowers stigma may reject the pollen of the same plant . In some others the stigma prevents the germination of pollen grains. thus preventing the growth of pollen tubes.

Genetic Consequences of self-pollination

Self-pollination leads to the increase of homozygosity which is the presence of the same genotype of the two identical alleles of the plant. Thereby increasing the population of the same plants. The populations of self-pollinated plants are mostly homozygous but heterozygous is also possible in which genotypes of two different alleles are exhibited. Thus the purpose of breeding methods is to develop homozygous varieties of plants.

Advantages and disadvantages of self-pollination

Advantages

• The offspring preserves the parental characters indefinitely since genotypes are the same plant are involved during self-pollination as the small quantity of pollen is sufficient for self-pollination.
• It is very economical during plant breeding since anther are present close to the stigma .
• There is less chance of failure of pollination.
• Flowers do not depend on external agents for pollination.
• Less wastage of pollen grains when compared to cross-pollination.
• New addition or subtraction of plant characters is possible in self-pollination.

Disadvantages

• Continuous self-pollination leads to the weakening of progeny.
• No possibility for new species or plant varieties.
• All of your seeds produced through self-pollination are comparatively lesser than cross-pollination as they are more susceptible to diseases.

In this blog, you have learned that self-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from anther to the stigma of the same flower or genetically similar flower of the same plant and two kinds of self-pollination are Autogamy and Geitonogamy. Yellow Dragon Fruit