Topic 10: Principles of plant growth

Define the term fertilization in plants 

Fertilization is the process of sexual reproduction that happens in plants following germination and pollination. The combination of the female (ovum) and male (pollen) gametes to create a diploid zygote is known as fertilization. 

.It is a physicochemical process that happens following carpel pollination. The zygote goes through the entire sequence of events necessary for it to become a seed. 

.Since flowers are angiosperms' (flowering plants') reproductive organs, they are important to the fertilization process. In plants, fertilization takes place when haploid gametes combine to form a diploid zygote.

Describe the process of fertilization in a named plant:

.In flowers, the pollen grain germinates after the pollination of the carpel and grows into the style by creating the pathway for the pollen grain to move down to the ovary.

.The pollen tube opens into the ovule through the micropyle and bursts into the embryo sac.

. Here, the male nucleus unites with the nucleus of an egg inside the ovule forming a diploid zygote, which later swells up and develops into a fruit.

Types of fertilization in plants 

1. Porogamy 

.All angiosperms, or flowering plants, undergo this form of common fertilization. The pollen tube passes through the micropyle of the ovule during this kind of fertilization.

 2. Chalazogamy 

.This kind of fertilization is applied to all plant species belonging to the Casuarina genus. In this case, the pollen tube passes through the ovule and into the cell.