The diagram shows a strawberry plant growing in a school garden. A horizontal stem grows above the soil from the parent plant. At intervals, young plants de...
Question 1 Report
The diagram shows a strawberry plant growing in a school garden. A horizontal stem grows above the soil from the parent plant. At intervals, young plants develop roots and leaves. The gardener wants to produce many plants with the same fruit quality without using seeds.
(a) Name the horizontal structure labelled X. [1]
(b) State the type of reproduction shown in Fig. 1. [1]
(c) Explain why the new plants are genetically identical to the parent plant. [2]
(d) Describe two advantages and two disadvantages of producing strawberry plants in this way. [4]
Answer Details
(a) X is a runner, also called a stolon. [1]
(b) This is asexual reproduction, or vegetative propagation. [1]
(c) Only one parent supplies cells. The new cells are formed by mitosis, so they have the same genes or DNA as the parent and are genetically identical. [2]
(d) Advantages include rapid production, no need for pollination or fertilisation, retention of desirable fruit characteristics, and production of many plants from one parent. Disadvantages include little or no genetic variation, so all plants may be vulnerable to the same disease, pest or environmental change; plants may also grow close together and compete, and runners may not spread far. Two advantages and two disadvantages are required. [4]
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