What is pollination? State its significance.

Hint: Process of producing offspring from the parents is called reproduction. Plant reproduces to form new individuals from the parent plants. There are two modes of reproduction which are asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction in the plants. There are various types of asexual reproduction in plants as budding, fragmentation, vegetative propagation and spore formation. In this offspring is produced without the involvement of male and female gametes of the plants. Pollination is the type of sexual reproduction of the plants.

Complete answer:
Sexual reproduction involves the mating of male and female gametes of the two plants which forms the zygote and results into a new individual plant. Pollination is a process of transfer of anther from male reproductive part to the stigma of female reproductive part of the same flower or to flower of different plant. Pollination is of two types self pollination and cross pollination.

Self pollination is transfer of pollen grains from the anthers to the stigma of the same flower or transfer of stigma from anther to stigma of different flowers of the same plant. Whereas cross pollination is the transfer of another to stigma of the different plant in the form of pollen grains.

Significance of pollination is that pollination is a prerequisite for fertilization in flowering plants. Pollination is an important process for fertilization and zygote formation as it helps in transfer of male gamete to female gamete for fusion. Pollination helps in transfer of characters and traits from both the parents to the offspring. Premature abscission of ovary is prevented.

Note: Self pollination occurs in flowers which are genetically identical whereas cross pollination occurs in flowers which are genetically different. Self pollination causes homogenous condition whereas cross pollination causes heterozygous condition.