Given below are two statements: Statement I: Apomixis is a form of as…

The correct answer is Option (3) → Statement I is true but Statement II is false.

Apomixis is the formation of seeds without fertilisation. It is seen in some species of Asteraceae and grasses.

Statement I: Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that mimics sexual reproduction. — True. No gametes fuse, so the process is asexual. Yet the plant still forms seeds, just as it would after sexual reproduction. That is why the book says apomixis mimics sexual reproduction.

Statement II: In many Citrus and Mango varieties, some of the integument cells surrounding the embryo sac start dividing, protrude into the embryo sac and develop into the embryos. — False. In Citrus and Mango it is the nucellar cells around the embryo sac that divide and form extra embryos, not the integument cells. The integuments only harden later to form the seed coat. Such seeds have many embryos (polyembryony).

NCERT Extract:
Apomixis and Polyembryony – “Although seeds, in general are the products of fertilisation, a few flowering plants such as some species of Asteraceae and grasses, have evolved a special mechanism, to produce seeds without fertilisation, called apomixis. … Thus, apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that mimics sexual reproduction. There are several ways of development of apomictic seeds. In some species, the diploid egg cell is formed without reduction division and develops into the embryo without fertilisation. More often, as in many Citrus and Mango varieties some of the nucellar cells surrounding the embryo sac start dividing, protrude into the embryo sac and develop into the embryos.”