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.
Given below are two statements:
Statement I: In angiosperms, pollination and fertilisation are independent of water, so seed formation is more dependable.
Statement II: As seeds have sufficient food reserves, young seedlings are nourished until they are capable of photosynthesis on their own.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
Seeds give flowering plants several advantages. NCERT lists them one after another: seed formation does not depend on water, seeds disperse well, they carry food for the seedling, the hard seed coat protects the embryo, and seeds carry new genetic combinations.
Statement I: In angiosperms, pollination and fertilisation are independent of water, so seed formation is more dependable. — True. Unlike many lower plants, where male gametes need water to reach the egg, flowering plants bring pollen to the stigma and the male gametes to the egg through a pollen tube. Water is not needed for these steps, so seed formation is more dependable.
Statement II: As seeds have sufficient food reserves, young seedlings are nourished until they are capable of photosynthesis on their own. — True. The food stored in the cotyledons or the endosperm feeds the young seedling until its own leaves can make food.
Both statements are correct.
NCERT Extract:
Seed – “Seeds offer several advantages to angiosperms. Firstly, since reproductive processes such as pollination and fertilisation are independent of water, seed formation is more dependable. Also seeds have better adaptive strategies for dispersal to new habitats and help the species to colonise in other areas. As they have sufficient food reserves, young seedlings are nourished until they are capable of photosynthesis on their own. The hard seed coat provides protection to the young embryo.”