Tag: pollination, fertilization and development of endosperm and embryo

Emasculation involves the removal of anthers of a flower in order to prevent self-pollination or the undesirable pollination of neighbouring plants. After emasculation the female reproductive part of the plant should be covered to prevent unwanted fertilisation.
Thus, the correct answer is option (B), 'Removal of anthers'.

• Emasculation is the removal of anthers in a bisexual flower to prevent self-pollination. 
• The female reproductive part is not involved in this process. It is a technique used by plant breeders to obtain the desired variety by crossing a plant with the desired pollen grain obtained by emasculation. 

Cross pollination occur when pollen grains are transferred to a flower from a different plant. The plants that undergo cross pollination often have taller stamens than their carpels. They use mechanisms to ensure that the pollen grains are spread to other plants' flowers. The process of cross pollination requires the help of abiotic or biotic agents like wind, water, insects, birds, bats, snails and other animals as pollinators. 

Herkogamy - common strategy employed by hermaphroditic angiosperms to reduce sexual interference between male and female function. Herkogamy differs from other such strategies by supplying a spatial separation of the anthers and stigma.
Dichogamy - having pistils and stamens that mature at different times, thus promoting cross - pollination rather than self - pollination.
Self sterility - sterile to its own pollen or sperm.

Pollination is a process in which pollen is transferred to the female reproductive organs of seed plants, thereby enabling fertilization and reproduction through growth of the pollen tube and eventual release of sperm. Both gymnosperms and angiosperms undergo pollination, although the mechanism for angiosperms is much faster and more complex. A successful angiosperm pollen grain (gametophyte) containing the male gametes is transported to the stigma, where it germinates and its pollen tube grows down the style to the ovary. Pteridophytes and bryophytes pollination does not occur. 

Cleistogmay is also called as automatic self - pollination. It describes the trait of certain plants to propagate using non - opening, self - pollinating flowers.

Mass selection is a simplest , common and oldest method of crop improvement, in which large number of plants of similar phenotype are selected and their seeds are harvested and mixed together to constitute the new variety. This method is practised in both self and cross – pollinated crops and plants are selected on the basis of their phenotype of appearance. Therefore, selection is done for easily observable characteristics such as plant height, ear/type, grain colour, grain size, etc.

• Cross-pollination is important for the production of new varieties of plants. Plants are having better growth and the creation of more viable seeds.  
• Cross-pollination is the process where the plants of different variety can breed with another to create a unique plant. 
• The resultant plant shows the characteristics of both the parent generation and therefore it is used to create new varieties of plants. 
• Cross-pollination is also performed to create more viable seeds of plants and also to generate plants having a better scope of growth.
• The correct option is D. 

If it produces a pink flower in the next generation then cross-pollination might have occurred.