Read the given passage and answer the following questions :

As traditional breeding techniques failed to keep pace with demand and to provide sufficiently fast and efficient systems for crop improvement, another technology called tissue culture got developed. What does tissue culture mean? It was learnt by scientists, during 1950s, that whole plants could be regenerated from explants. You will learn how to accomplish this in higher classes. It is important to stress here that the nutrient medium must provide a carbon source such as sucrose and also inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids and growth regulators like auxins, cytokinins etc. By application of these methods it is possible to achieve propagation. Each of these plants will be genetically identical to the original plant from which they were grown, i.e., they are somaclones. Many important food plants like tomato, banana, apple, etc., have been produced on commercial scale using this method. Try to visit a tissue culture laboratory with your teacher to better understand and appreciate the process. Another important application of the method is the recovery of healthy plants from diseased plants. Even if the plant is infected with a virus, the meristem (apical and axillary) is free of virus. Hence, one can remove the meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain virus-free plants. Scientists have succeeded in culturing meristems of banana, sugarcane ,potato, etc. Scientists have even isolated single cells from plants and after digesting their cell walls have been able to isolate naked protoplasts.

What is micropropagation?

Method of production of thousands of plants.

The correct answer is Option (1)- Method of production of thousands of plants.

In tissue culture technique , any part of a plant is  taken out and grown in a test tube, under sterile conditions in special nutrient media. This capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell/explant is called totipotency. It is important to note that the nutrient medium must provide a carbon source such as sucrose and also inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids and growth regulators like auxins, cytokinins etc.

By application of these methods it is possible to achieve propagation of a large number of plants in very short durations. This method of producing thousands of plants through tissue culture is called micropropagation. Each of these plants will be genetically identical to the original plant from which they were grown, i.e., they are some clones. Many important food plants like tomato, banana, apple, etc., have been produced on commercial scale using this method.