Question

In a controlled experiment, the anthers of a mustard plant's flowers were carefully removed in the bud stage before they matured. The bud was covered with a paper bag.
What will be the most likely result for these flowers?

• A. They will still produce seeds and fruit through self-pollination.
• B. They will attract more insects and produce larger flowers but no fruit.
• C. They will not produce any seeds or fruits.
• D. They will produce seeds and fruits that are genetically identical to the parent.

Hint:

Anthers give pollen. Without pollen and with a bag stopping outside pollen, ask whether fertilisation can happen.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The anther is the male part of a flower. It makes pollen grains that carry the male gametes. Removing the anthers of a bud before it matures is called emasculation. Covering the bud with a bag stops pollen from coming from outside.

Step 2: Recall how seeds form:
A seed forms only after fertilisation. Fertilisation needs pollen to reach the stigma (pollination), then the male gamete must fuse with the egg in the ovule. The ovule becomes the seed and the ovary becomes the fruit.

Step 3: Apply it to this experiment:
Mustard flowers are bisexual, but here the anthers have been removed, so the flower has no pollen of its own. The paper bag also blocks insects and wind, so no pollen from another flower can arrive. No pollination means no fertilisation, so no seeds and no fruit.

Step 4: Why the other options are wrong:
(A) needs pollen from the same flower. The anthers are gone, so there is no pollen.
(B) is wrong because the bag keeps insects away, and removing anthers does not make flowers larger. Also fruit cannot form without fertilisation.
(D) is wrong because no seeds form at all. Seeds formed by sexual reproduction would also carry variation and would not be exact copies of the parent.

Final Answer:
Without pollen and with the bud bagged, fertilisation cannot occur. No seeds or fruits form. This is option (C). \[ \boxed{\text{C}} \]