What is the propagation method where tissues from one plant are encouraged to fuse with another?

What is the propagation method where tissues from one plant are encouraged to fuse with another?

• A. Layering
• B. Grafting
• C. Cuttings
• D. Division

Answer: (B)

The propagation method being described is grafting. In grafting, tissue from a scion (the part you want to keep) is placed onto a rootstock so the two plant tissues come into contact and their vascular systems, especially the cambium, fuse and heal together. When successful, the union allows the scion to grow on the rootstock, effectively combining traits from both plants and enabling propagation that preserves desirable characteristics such as fruit quality, vigor, or disease resistance. This differs from layering, where a stem is encouraged to form roots while still attached to the parent plant, without fusing with a separate plant’s tissues. Cuttings involve rooting a detached piece of the plant to produce a new individual, again without combining two plants. Division splits an existing plant into multiple parts, each becoming its own plant. In all those cases, there isn’t a deliberate fusion of tissues from two different plants as in grafting.

The propagation method being described is grafting. In grafting, tissue from a scion (the part you want to keep) is placed onto a rootstock so the two plant tissues come into contact and their vascular systems, especially the cambium, fuse and heal together. When successful, the union allows the scion to grow on the rootstock, effectively combining traits from both plants and enabling propagation that preserves desirable characteristics such as fruit quality, vigor, or disease resistance.

This differs from layering, where a stem is encouraged to form roots while still attached to the parent plant, without fusing with a separate plant’s tissues. Cuttings involve rooting a detached piece of the plant to produce a new individual, again without combining two plants. Division splits an existing plant into multiple parts, each becoming its own plant. In all those cases, there isn’t a deliberate fusion of tissues from two different plants as in grafting.