What is Apomixis ? What is its importance ?

Explanation

The development of reproductive propagules without meiosis and syngamy is called Apomixis. It consists of (i) agamospermy-It is a kind of asexual reproduction that mimics sexual reproduction. Here the seeds with embryos are formed by asexual reproductive process. These is no role of pollen grains. It is reported in some species of grasses and family Asteraceae (ii) Vegetative propagation--Formation of new plants from any vegetative part of the plant such as roots, stem and leaves.
Importance. (i) It results in the increase in the number of embryos inside the seed a phenomenon called Polyembryony. A large number of plants can be produced. (ii) As, it does not involve pollination and fertilisation, it ensures the survival of the species, against unfavourable and unreliable environmental conditions. (iii) It results in the formation of genetically similar plants (clone), preservation of desirable parental characters, production of large number of new plants from parent plant by vegetative reproduction.