Read the passage and answer the following questions.
In the process of sexual reproduction in angiosperms, the seed serves as the final product. It is formed from a fertilised ovule and is typically enclosed within a fruit. A seed is composed of several parts, including seed coats, cotyledons, and an embryo axis. The cotyledons of the embryo are simple structures that are often thick and swollen, storing food reserves, particularly in legumes. Mature seeds may be albuminous (retaining a part of the endosperm) or non-albuminous (with no residual endosperm). The integuments of the ovules harden to become protective seed coats, and a small pore called the micropyle remains, enabling the entry of oxygen and water during seed germination. As the ovules develop into seeds, the ovary undergoes transformation into a fruit. This simultaneous process involves the ovules turning into seeds, and the ovary walls developing into the fruit's pericarp. Fruits come in different types, including fleshy fruits like guava, orange, and mango, as well as dry fruits such as groundnut and mustard. Many fruits have evolved mechanisms for the dispersal of seeds.
Some plants develop fruits without fertilisation. Which of the following statements about such fruits are correct?
(i) Such fruits are called parthenocarpic fruits.
(ii) Such fruits are seedless.
(iii) Mango, banana and apple are common examples of such fruits.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (i) and (ii) only
In most species, fruits are the result of fertilisation. A few species, however, form fruits without fertilisation. Such fruits are called parthenocarpic fruits. Parthenocarpy can also be induced by applying growth hormones, and such fruits are seedless.
(i) Such fruits are called parthenocarpic fruits. — True. Fruit formation without fertilisation is called parthenocarpy.
(ii) Such fruits are seedless. — True. Without fertilisation, the ovules do not develop into seeds, so the fruits are seedless.
(iii) Mango, banana and apple are common examples of such fruits. — False. Banana is an example of a parthenocarpic fruit, but mango and apple form after fertilisation and carry seeds. Apple is in fact a false fruit.
So only (i) and (ii) are correct.
NCERT Extract:
Seed – “… Although in most of the species, fruits are the results of fertilisation, there are a few species in which fruits develop without fertilisation. Such fruits are called parthenocarpic fruits. Banana is one such example. Parthenocarpy can be induced through the application of growth hormones and such fruits are seedless.”