Plants cannot move around. Once they grow, they remain in the same place. But their seeds are great travelers. They can reach far and wide to grow. Which of the following is not a method of seed dispersal? 

Plants cannot move around. Once they grow, they remain in the same place. But their seeds are great travelers. They can reach far and wide to grow. Which of the following is not a method of seed dispersal?  Correct Answer by sunlight

Concept:

• Every plant/ tree has a different type of seed.
• Seeds of plants/trees travel from one place to another by different methods.
• Seed Dispersal is an adaptive mechanism in the movement or transport of seeds away from their parent plant.
• This helps to ensure the germination and survival of some of the seeds to adult plants.
• There are many vectors to transport the seed from one place to another.
• Some travel by wind, some travel by water and some travel with the help of animals.
• Seeds travel from one place to another to help in the propagation of plants/ trees.

​Explanation:

Methods of seed dispersal:

By bursting:

• Pea pods often use mechanical dispersal by bursting.
• Explosions in fruits literally refer to bursting with all its energy.
• When the seeds are ready, the pod dries up.
• When the pod dries, the inside of the pod dries faster than the outside.
• This makes the pod twist inside, suddenly splitting open violently, rolling into a little spiral.
• When this roll happens, it makes the seeds fly out of the pod in all directions.
• This type of seed dispersal is mainly seen in those plants having pods.
• Okra, Lupins, gorse, and beans are a few examples of plants whose seeds are dispersed by explosions.

Seed dispersal by wind:

• The wind is the natural and fundamental means of seed dispersal in the plant kingdom.
• This process of dispersal is mainly seen in those plants which bear very light seeds.
• The seeds of the orchid plant, dandelions, swan plants, cottonwood trees, etc. are all examples of plants whose seeds are dispersed by the wind.

Seed dispersal by water:

• In this method of seed dispersal, seeds float away from their parent plant.
• These are mainly seen in those plant which lives in water or nearby the water bodies like beaches, lakes, ponds etc.
• Coconut, palm, mangroves, water lily, water mint, are a few examples of plants whose seeds are dispersed by the water.

Seed dispersal by animals and birds:

• There are different ways in which animals and birds disperse the seeds.
• Few animals and birds are attracted to bright colourful fruits.
• They eat the entire fruit and only the juicy part is digested by their system and the seed are excreted out in the form of their dropping.
• Blackberry, cherry, tomato and apple seeds are dispersed in this way.
• A few species of squirrels collect nuts from different plants like acorns and bury them under the soil.
• They store food for the winter season and often forget the place where they have previously buried them and the seeds grow into new trees.
• There are a few plants that bear seeds with hooks.
• The burdock plant is an example of this type of plant species.
• The seed of these plants catches on the fur of animals and are carried away to different places, far from their parent plants.
• Dates, rambutan, sea grapes, sea holly, tamarind, raspberry, sunflower, tomatoes are a few examples of plants whose seeds are dispersed by animals and birds.

Seed dispersal by gravity:

• Gravity is a force of attraction that exists among all the objects in the universe.
• As the fruits from the tree fall on the ground due to the force of attraction.
• They sometimes roll down to some smaller distance, get buried in the soil after a few days and germinate into a new plant.
• In certain cases, fruits that do not have very hard seed coats may crack and open after falling down from a height, which leads to a better dispersion of seeds.
• In some cases, the fallen fruit is carried by other agents like water, wind, birds or animal and helps in the dispersion of seeds.
• Apples, Commelina, canna, coconuts, calabash, passion fruit are a few examples of plants whose seeds are dispersed by gravity.

Thus, seeds are not dispersed by sunlight.

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