1/27 Cloning Plants

There are three different ways a plant can clone.

1. Plants clone themselves.

A strawberry plant grows a stem called a runner and a new plant grows from the runner. That new plant is a clone. Similar cloning happens with grass, potatoes, and onions.

2. People clone plants

Vegetative Propagation is simply done by cutting a plant's stem and planting it into the earth. 

3. Scientists clone plants

Scientists use a method called Tissue Culture Propagation where they take pieces of roots and break them up into root cells and put the cells into a nutrient. (Cell Culture- cells are grown under controlled conditions, outside of their natural environment) 

In Culture, the cells become calluses (mass of unorganized cells drives from plant tissue) They are the cells that cover a plant wound.

Specific plant hormones stimulate the cell division which allows the plants that are identical to the original plant to grow. They divide and form different cells like the roots and stems and eventually form a new plant.

Bananas

There are a number of diseases that affect banana plants. Tissue Culture is used to produce bananas the are free from disease. Some plant nurseries have a banana planting area based on tissue culture.