Question

Discuss why is banana considered a good example of parthenocarpy?

Answer 1

Banana is referred to as parthenogenetic fruit because it develops without any fusion of gametes. The stimulus provided by pollination alone and the presence of some internal hormonal concentration stimulates the ovary to form the fruits without fertilization.

Complete answer step by step answer:
The process of producing or developing fruits without the process of pollination and fertilization is known as parthenocarpy. Parthenocarpy can be of two types– natural parthenocarpy and artificially parthenocarpy. The fruits produced by this process are seedless. Some seedless fruits like eg: banana, cucumber, grapes, lemon tomato, and watermelon are produced by the Parthenocarpy process. It can be also said as a form of asexual reproduction in flowering plants. In this case, the ovaries got matured without fertilization with help of the plant growth hormones, which grows and produces fruit without the seeds. In botany, the word Parthenocarpy refers to a virgin fruit. As a result of parthenocarpy mutation in plants occurs and this condition affects the flowers, the reproducing part of plants. During this process, male and female gametes don’t fuse and without the union of them, fruits are developed. In the banana plants, the process of fertilization is not required to produce fruits, it occurs due to incompatibility or sterility of the male flowers due to which pollination does not occur. The green fruits of banana developed from female flowers that resemble fingers. The fruit is formed due to the induction of growth hormones while seeds are not formed.

Additional information:

1. Th Artificial parthenocarpy includes causes like irradiated pollen. The growth of the fruits is enabled by spraying plant growth hormones – Auxin and Gibberellins.
2. Parthenocarpy is induced artificially by the use of plant growth regulators where the development of fruits is stimulated when the plant hormones such as gibberellins, auxin, and cytokinin are sprayed on flowers.
3. Stimulative parthenocarpy occurs when pollination occurs but fertilization doesn't and by the insertion of the ovipositor of a wasp into the ovary of a flower. Those Plants do not require pollination that has vegetative parthenocarpy or have other types of stimulation to produce parthenocarpic fruit, eg: seedless cucumbers, also an example of stenospermocarpy is seedless watermelon as they are immature seeds.

Note: The seedlessness nature of fruits and vegetables is seen as a desirable trait in edible fruit with hard seeds such as banana, pineapple, orange, and grapefruit as well as in fruit crops such as fig, tomato, and summer squash that may be difficult to pollinate or fertilize. On the other hand, it is also undesirable in nut crops, such as pistachio, for which the seed is the edible part. At least 11,200 years ago, the oldest known cultivated plant was first grown as a parthenocarpic fig.