The Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Cuttings to Reproduce a Certain Type of Plant

Reduced Variability

• For the nursery industry, one advantage of propagation by cutting is the total elimination of genetic variability. Each cutting will reproduce an exact copy of the plant that it was taken from. Customers do not have to be concerned that a plant may exhibit unwanted recessive traits, such as incorrect coloration or genetic problems that result in low vigor.

Shrinking Gene Pool

• The use of cuttings can be problematic for plant populations. When all the plants of a given population have the same genes, there is a real risk that an unforeseen disease will crop up that the species has no resistance against. Without sexual reproduction, plants cannot mutate and adapt to environmental pressures.

Reliable Reproduction

• Unusual plants sometimes have trouble creating viable seeds. Plants that are rooted from cuttings don't require seeds at all. A cutting simply grows roots or it does not; there is no guessing and waiting to see if seeds germinate. If roots do not begin to form after a few days, a gardener can simply take another cutting and try again.

Spreading Plant Viruses

• While plant viruses are not a problem for all plants grown from cuttings, they are certainly an issue that should be considered when propagating new plants. Viruses like the mosaic virus are spread when cloning ailing plants, which may show few symptoms. Always disinfect tools when making cuttings, as viruses can be spread to uninfected hosts via pruners and other equipment.