Grow ing Plants

Growing plants is importa nt as our life depends

You will learn about
largely on them . Maya bought a few vegetables
• G row ing p lants from seeds ,
from the market. Help her sort them into the ro ots, ste ms, and leaves
right bags. • Ag riculture

Carrot

Spinach
Radish

Turnip

Mint

Coriander

cauliflowe r
I \ Broccoli
I Potato

Ginger
Flowers\
Stems Leaves

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j Growing Plants
 An out er coveri ng ca lled
l lwy c.,n qrow no t only I seed coat protects th b t~,
I t n\t ·• .111' . 11 \) ,, : 11" l• - - ·t st em s and leaves. pl ant in side the seed e aby C
I t,n,1 hri 1 ,oo s, ,
(\ ' ' " , 1'( ' \ h t, l I l " I\1() I · fr
I :,t i1 , lt\ 11 1, h,wv ,11 •,N pl,rnt ~grow. g
n
~ f-NoM SEEDS
~ R,lWINl~ PLANlS . rE

..... AN' . a
....., . . ou will find seeds inside it.
It , ,, l1 l'-d .111 .,~)pl r or iH1 orcrn ge, y V
Nl\,,, ~) l,rn h ( ,"1 ~,ow lr om these seed s. . ti
Is given alongside. Outside
11w . . t, 11 t tl l lt' ni d t)ecl ll Sf' ed - ti
The seed coat has a tiny p
G , •11n1n. 1t1on hole through which the
1/1<' I" l )( c' .' -" /J_, ivhit 11 n sccrf produces a new plant is seed gets water.
D
l ,i//c·,/ germination.
Nut 11 11 "l' t' d c; cw, rn lnote into new plant s. Some seeds are eaten
Seed leaves or cotyledons l
store food for the baby plant. T
up bv birds .11~ci insects, so me get dest royed by the rain and
ft
th r ,Ni ne!, whil t: so me seeds do not get t he right conditions to
9e1rn in.-,to. s
Sed is need air, wci ter, and w armt h to ge rminate into seedlings. C
I( J seeci does not receive any one of the three, a
it w ill not ge rminate. h
Inside
a
The fo ll owi ng picture show s t he differe nt stages of Structure of a bean E
germin ati o n in a bea n seed. seed d

Air Warmth

• • The seed gets air, C

water, and warmth. le

The seed soaks up C

•
Lec1 ves - --
water, the seed coat V
breaks, and the
a
root emerges.

•
Co ty ledo ns The new plant
Shoo t- - develops roots
and a shoot

•
As the plant grows
in size, it develops
leaves.

J 4 The cotyledons ear

5 • shrink and d1 5apP
Stages of germ in ation in b
a eon seed
Growing Plan ts
Q e+ f irtiih . Mtiw *· e

During the ea rly stag es of germination, t he seedling gets th e fo od requ ired fo r it s grovrth
from the cotyledon s. After th e food sto red in th e coty ledon s ha s bee n use d up, leaves
grow out of the seedling and begin to prepare food . The seedling absorb s w ater and
nutrients from the soil with the help of its root s. Air (w hich is required for germin at ion }
reaches the seed through pores in the so il. The seed ling deve lop s leave s and grows into
a plant. That is why soil is so important for plant growth .
What will happen if you sow many seeds too close to one another? Aft er they germ in ate,
they will compete for air, water, light, nutrie nts, and space to grow. As a result, many of
them would die. To ensure that the seeds do not grow too close to one another, many
plants naturally scatter their seeds by different means.

Dispersal
~ LL! W in g-like
structures in
The process by which seeds are scattered away some seed s

from the parent plant is called dispersal.

Some ways of seed dispersal are given below. Mapl e seed s

Dispersal by wind Seeds of certain plants

are very light and have wing-like structures or
hair on them. These seeds are easily carried
away by the wind from one place to another.
,\ ' n
Examples are maple and '
Dandelion
dandelion seeds. seeds with

Dispersal by water Seeds of plants such as

lotus and coconut are spongy or have a fibrous
hair on them
0
covering, which helps them to float on water.
Water carries these seeds from one place to
another.
Seeds havin g wing-like struc t ures
or hair are dispersed by wind.
Seeds of coconut are
dispersed by water.
Dispersal by animals Seeds of some plants,
such as cocklebur, have spines or hooks. These
seeds stick to the bodies of animals and birds I

and are thus carried away from the parent plant.

Growing Pl ants
 Birds and an imafs eat fruits of vario us fJ 'e1 1, L.J •h
f its
Undigested seeds oft hese ru pass throu .
g
. t t and are disperse d to I •
their digestive systems ,n ac ·
other areas.

Pod
Seeds of cocklebur
01
dispe rsed by anirnot:

Dispersal by explosion The fruits of som e plants, su:

peas and beans, burst open when they are ripe, scattE
Se ed _ ___,. , the seeds in all directions. This meth od of seed dispe r
~., W called explosion.

A. Circle the odd one out. Give one reason for your choi
ce.
1. seed coat, roots , cotyledons , baby plant
2. air, soil, water, warmth
3. wind, water, light weight, wing-like structures
4. spines, hooks , spongy, cocklebur
5. peas , coconut, beans, explosion
8 . Label th e following.

GROWING PLANTS FROM

ROOTS
~ood is stored in the roots of
arrot, radish, turnip, beetroot
I

1d dahlia. New plants can Carrot

ow from these roots. A new plant can be
Dahlia roots can
grown from the to
. p be used to grow
POrtion of i1 r;:i,-,..,., ..,
 Activity

Aim: To grow a plant from a carrot top

ainer, and water
Things needed: A few carrots, a shallow cont
Method:
es) of the carrots
1. Cut off the top portion (the end that has leav
the bottom part
and place these top portions in a cont aine r with
ot tops.
downward. Remove all the leaves from the carr
are half covered with wate r.
2. Add water to the container till the carrot tops
3. Keep the cont aine r in a sunny place.
ut from the carrot top.
Observation: After som e days, new leaves spro

Ginger will grow a

GROWING PLA NTS FROM STEM S leafy shoot when
planted in soil.
We eat stems of certain plants such as
potato and ginger. New plants can grow
from these stems. ~
A bud can
Eye grow into a
Ginger
new plant .

A pota to has buds called

Word help
'eyes ' on its surface . Any
Bud A sma-11 swel ling from wh ic h Potato piece of a pota to with an
a new shoo t, leaf, flow er, o r a eye can grow
new pfan t con grow
Some stems can grow
into a new plan t!
into new plants.

ts can grow from the stem

In the case of rose, Hibiscus, and money plant, new plan
cuttings of the parent plant.

• The stem is cut at an

appropriate place . •
The cut porti on of the
stem is planted in soil.

Growin g a rose plan t from a stem cutting

• The stem cutti ng grow s into a
new plan t if wate red regu larl y.
- l eaf bud - --,-----ita._ 1 ' ~ ~ -

GROW ING P.LANTS FROM LEAVES

Th e Bryophyllum leaf has many buds on its -.
marg ins. New plants arise from these buds
wh en the bud fa lls on mo ist soil. Bryo phy ll um leaf

New plan ts can gro w f rorn

leav es.

AGRICULTURE

" LL )
o
The practice of growing plants on a large sca le forf0
or other purposes is called agriculture.

Plants that are grown in large quantities in a part

icu
area or region during a particular season are called
croi

grow well. They get nutrients from

Crops need water and nutrients from the soil to
their action and provide one or more
manures and fertilizers. Fertilizers are specific in
lar nutrient, whereas ma nures genera lly imp rove soil fertility by increasing hum
particu
rients.
content. They may contain small quantities of nut

Kn ow you r Scientist

I M S Swaminathan ( 1925 - present) is an Indian agri

known fo r starting the "Green Revo lution" prog
prog ram , high -yielding varieties of wheat and
culture ~ien tist
ram in India. Und er this
rice seedlings v..rere planted. 1

He a lso helped to bring about greater acceptance

of modern farming
I methods in India .

Crops need protection from birds, insects, rats,

and pests before and after harvesting . They are
sprayed with pesticides to protect them from
9
Harv estin g Cutting and gatnern
use
pests and other harmful animals. Farmers also of ripened crops
Sca recr ow An obie d in the sfioPf
re
scarecrows to scare away birds from fields whe of a human mad e of sticks and
crops are grown . old cloth es that formers put in
1

~Q;,..i fi_pfJ " t:n..sc:0Le__b, rds awo i

 1. The field is ploughed.

2. Manu re or fertili zers are added

to the soil.

3. Seeds are sown .

4. The crops are sprayed with chem icals called
pesti cides to prote ct ~hem from pests.

6. The crops are harvested.

5. The crops are irrigated (watered).

stag es of agriculture

Grow ing Plants

 . steps into the
s by cutt1n 9
In hilly regions, people grow crojarming or terrace farming .
mountainside. This is known as step d may not grow
in one season an .
A particular crop may grow well . h farmers grow different
that well .1n another season . That 1s w Y
.
crops in different seasons. Th
k wn as kharif crops. ese
Crops grown from June to October are no. Examples of such
crops depend largely on the monsoon rains.
Step for .
crops are rice and maize. rn,n~
· . lied rabi crops. These crops do not de
Crops grown from November to Apnl are ca d Pend er
are wheat an Iegumes.
the monsoon rains. Examples of sue h crops

Key Word's
~
Seed coat The outer covering of a seed which protects th e baby plant inside it is called
the seed coat.
Cotyledons Parts of the seed that store food for the baby plant are called cotyledons.
Germination The process by which a seed produces a new plant or seedling is called
germination.
Dispersal The process by which seeds are scattered away from the parent plant is
called dispersal.
Agriculture The practice of growing plants on a large scale for food or other purposes is
called agriculture.
Crops Plants that are grown in large quantities in a particular area or region during
a particular season are called crops.
Kharif crops Crops grown from June to October are called kharif crops.
Rabi crops Crops grown from November to April are called rabi crops.

Summary

• Plants can grow not only from seeds but also from th ·
. e1r roots, stems, and leaves.
• If a seed gets the nght amount of air water and w h . . I nt
. ' ' armt , 1t will produce a new Pa
or see di ing.
• Plants need to scatter their seeds in order to ens 0w\C
ure that too I ts do not gr
close to one another. many P an
• Wind, water, and animals help in the dispersal of
seeds
• Crops need to be protected from birds, insects r t ·
harvesting. ' a s, and pe t b f nd after
s s e ore a

Gr
 Exercises
1 ET S UNDERSTAN
~ QT
A. Objectiv e type questions
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct words.
1. The seed coat has _ _ _ _ _ (seed leaves/a tiny hole) for water to enter and help
the seed germinate.
2. To ensure that plants do not grow too close to one another, some plants
_ _ _ _ _ (multiply using roots and stems/scatter their seeds far away).
3. Roots of _ _ _ _ _ (dahlia/potato) can grow into new plants.
4. Manure and fertilizers add _ _ _ _ _ (water/nutrients) to the soil.
5. Crops grown from June to October are known as _ _ _ _ _ (kharif/rabi) crops.

11. Write T for the true and F for the false statement.
1. Ayoung seedling gets its food from the cotyledons.
2. All seeds need air, water, and warmth to germinate into seedlings.
3. A maple seed is dispersed by explosion.
4. Carrots store extra food in their stems.
5. Farmers use scarecrows to keep birds away from the fields.

Ill. Choose the correct option.

1. Which of these can help us to grow new plants?
a. Seeds b. Stem cuttings c. Roots and leaves d. All of these
2. What do seeds need to germinate?
a. Air b. Water c. Warmth d. All of these

3. Which of these parts of a seed store food for the baby plant?
a. Root b. Seed leaves c. Stems d. Seed hole

4. Which of these can be grown from roots?

a. Turnip b. Beetroot c. Radish d. All of these

5. Which of these can be grown from stem cuttings?

a. Potato b. Rose c. Dahlia d. Ginger

6. Which of these is not a stage of agriculture?

a. The field is ploughed. b. Seeds are sown.
c. Stems of crops are cut. d. The fields are irrigated.
Growing Plants
 s from pests?
7. Which of these protects crop c. Fertilizers d. lrrigat·
. 7 IQ~
b Manure
a. Pesticides · the monsoon rains.
t depend on
8. Which of these crops do no b. Kharif crops
t ace farms d. All of these
a. Crops grown on err
c. Rabi crops

IV. Match the columns. R

Column B
Column A
1. Radish a. Spines
2. Bryophyllum b. Stem
3. Potato C. Root

4. Cocklebur d. Explosion
5. Bean seeds e. Leaves

B. Very shont answer questions

I. Give two examples of the following.
1. Seeds dispersed by wind

2. Seeds dispersed by explosion

3. Features of seeds dispersed by animals

4. Plants that store food in their roots

5. Plants that multiply through stem cuttings

II. Give one word for the following.

1. The outer covering of the seed that protects the baby
plant inside it

2. The process by which a seed produces a new plant

__ __ _ ,
3. The process by which seeds are scattered away from
the parent plant

4. Buds of a potato that can grow into a new plant

5. The practice of growing plants on a large scale for

food or other purposes
C. Answer the folfowing.
1. What is a seed coat? What is its function?

2. What is germination? List the conditions necessary for germination to take place.
3. Mention the different ways in which seeds get dispersed.

_, "-· -
L
4. How ca n we grow new plants fron1 stern cuttings?
s. Exp la in the different stages of ag ric ultu re.

6. Differentiate between kharif and rabi craps. Give examples of each.

•'"~"
~
LET'S RECA ... vt
Recall and complete the concept map given below.

Plants grow from

Roots

Stages of agriculture

3 4 6
Seed s are sown.

2
5

\.\\S T~<!'
t ~~
LET'S OBS ERV:
1. Arrange the different stages of agriculture in the right order.

2. Number the
different stages
of germination in
the correct order
from 1 to 5.
tJ
Growing Pl ants