Question

(a) Write one way by which apomictic seeds can be developed.

(b) Why do farmers prefer apomictic seeds over hybrid seeds ?

Hint:

Apomictic seeds form without fertilisation (for example from a diploid egg); they keep hybrid traits so no new seed is bought yearly.

Answer 1

Step 1: Meaning of apomixis:
Apomixis is the formation of seeds without fertilisation. The seed has the same genes as the mother plant, so it is a clone.

Step 2: Answer (a):
Apomictic seeds can develop from a diploid egg cell formed without meiosis, which grows into an embryo without fertilisation. Another way is that a nucellar cell or an integument cell grows into an embryo (adventive embryony). Any one way is enough.

Step 3: Answer (b):
Hybrid seeds do not breed true. Their progeny segregate, so farmers must buy fresh hybrid seeds every year, and these are costly. Apomictic seeds keep the hybrid character from one generation to the next. So the farmer can save and reuse them every year, and this cuts cost.

Final Answer:
(a) Seeds form from an unreduced diploid egg or from a nucellar cell without fertilisation. (b) Apomictic seeds keep hybrid vigour in every generation, so no fresh seeds need to be bought.
\[ \boxed{\text{Hybrid character is retained}} \]