Biology · Plant Growth and Development · NEET
No, and NEET loves to mix these up. Parthenocarpy is FRUIT development without fertilisation (gives a seedless fruit). Parthenogenesis is when an egg develops into an EMBRYO without fertilisation. Easy split: carpy = carpel = fruit; genesis = new organism (embryo). One makes a seedless fruit, the other makes a body from an unfertilised egg.
Auxin. NCERT says clearly: 'Auxins also induce parthenocarpy, e.g., in tomatoes.' So if a question asks which PGR is applied to get seedless fruit, the answer is auxin. Remember auxin here as the fruit-setting hormone.
No. Since there is no fertilisation, no seeds form. That is exactly why farmers like parthenocarpy: seedless fruits (like seedless grapes, seedless watermelon, banana) are easier to eat and sell. Seedless = no fertilisation = parthenocarpy.
Yes. NCERT gives banana as the classic natural example of a parthenocarpic fruit. Banana forms its edible pulp without fertilisation, so it has no true seeds. This is a very common one-line NEET fact.
Parthenocarpy gives a seedless FRUIT (no fertilisation, no seed). Apomixis gives a SEED without fertilisation (an asexual seed that looks like a normal seed but is formed without fusion of gametes). So parthenocarpy = fruit no seed; apomixis = seed but no fertilisation.
Read the following statements on plant growth and development. A. Parthenocarpy can be induced by auxins. B. Plant growth regulators can be involved in promotion as well as inhibition of growth. C. Dedifferentiation is a pre-requisite for re-differentiation. D. Abscisic acid is a plant growth promoter. E. Apical dominance promotes the growth of lateral buds. Choose the option with all correct statements.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Parthenocarpy is the development of a fruit from the ovary without fertilisation, producing a seedless fruit.
Auxin. NCERT gives tomato as the example where auxin induces parthenocarpy.
Banana is the standard NCERT example of a naturally parthenocarpic (seedless) fruit.
It gives seedless fruits (grapes, watermelon, banana) which are more convenient to eat and have higher market value, and fruit can be set even when pollination fails.
Parthenocarpy is about the ABSENCE of fertilisation/seeds, not about which floral part forms the fruit. It is a separate idea from true vs false fruit; the defining point is that no fertilisation occurred, so no seeds form.
