Sexual Reproduction in Plants

• Fertilisation is the fusion of the male gamete present in the pollen with the female gamete or the egg present in the ovule.
• The process of formation of male gametophyte in case of plants is called microsporogenesis. 
• The process of formation of female gametophyte in case of plants is called megasporogenesis.
  
  

• The process of fusion of one male gamete with the egg along with the union of the second male gamete with the two polar nuclei or the secondary nucleus is called double fertilisation.
• Once the pollen tube reaches the ovary, one of the male gametes fuse with the egg and forms the zygote. This completes syngamy.
• The nucleus of the second male gamete fuses with two haploid polar nuclei and form a triploid primary endosperm nucleus (PEN). This is called triple fusion because of the involvement of the two polar nuclei.
• Since there are two fusions take place in the embryo sac, a syngamy and a triple fusion, this step is called the double fertilisation.
  
  

Fate of Floral Parts After Fertilisation

Fruit Formation

• After fertilisation, the ovary enlarges and forms a fruit.
• Scientifically, the fruit is the ripened ovary.
• Ovules become the seeds of the fruit.
• Vegetables such as tomato, lady’s finger and brinjal are all fruits.
  
  

• Cotyledons store nutrients for the growing embryo.
• The embryonal axis consists of a radicle and plumule.
• The radicle forms the root system of the plant, and the plumule forms the shoot system of the plant.
  
  
  
  
• The process of the development of an embryo of a seed into a plant is called germination.