INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

ON
“POLLINATION: ITS TYPES &
DIFFERENT POLLINATING
AGENTS”
FOR PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE NORMS
AND CONDITIONS LAID DOWN BY
AISSCE-2018

SUBMITTED TO MRS. JYOTSNA MANGARAJ

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I wish to express my deep gratitude and
sincere thanks to our biology teacher Mrs.
Jyotsna Mangaraj for her invaluable
guidance, constant encouragement,
constructive comments, sympathetic attitude
and immense motivation, which has
sustained my efforts at all stages of this
project work. Her valuable advice and
suggestions for the corrections, modifications
and improvement did enhance the perfection
in performing my job well. I would like to
express my gratitude to my parents for whole
hearted co-operation and guidance. I am also
thankful for their encouragement and for all
the facilities that they provided for this
project work. I sincerely appreciate this
magnanimity by taking me into their fold for
which I shall remain indebted to them.

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I hereby declare that the project work
entitled “POLLINATION: ITS TYPES
AND DIFFERENT POLLINATING
AGENTS” submitted to DAV Public
School Pokhariput, BBSR is a record of
original work done by me under the
guidance of Mrs. Jyotsna Mangaraj.

SIGNATURE OF TEACHER

SIGNATURE OF STUDENT

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 This is to certify that Pratyasha
Priyadarshini a student of class-XII B
has successfully completed the research
project on the topic “POLLINATION:
ITS TYPES AND DIFFERENT
POLLINATING AGENTS” under the
guidance of Mrs. Jyotsna Mangaraj
{PGT BIOLOGY}.This project is
completely genuine and does not
involve in plagiarism of any kind. The
references taken in making this project
have been declared at the end of this
project.

SIGNATURE OF EXTERNAL EXAMINER

SIGNATURE OF INTERNAL EXAM INER

4 SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR
 SL.
PARTICULARS PAGE
NO.
01 COVERPAGE 1
02 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2
03 DECLARATION 3
04 CERTIFICATE 4
05 CONTENTS 5
06 ABSTRACT 6

TYPES OF POLLINATION:
07 AUTOGAMY, GEITONOGAMY, 7 - 11
XENOGAMY

INBREEDING DEPRESSION
08 12 - 13
AND ITS PREVENTION

09 AGENTS OF POLLINATION 14 – 25

10 CONCLUSION 26
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11 BIBLIOGRAPHY 27
In flowering plants, male & female gametes
are produced in pollen grain & embryo sac
respectively. These gametes are non-motile,
therefore, they have to be brought together
for fertilisation. Pollination is the
mechanism to achieve this objective. The
transfer of pollen grains, shed from the
anther to the stigma of a pistil for
fertilisation is called pollination.
Flowering plants have an amazing array of
adaptations to achieve pollination. They
make use of external agents to achieve
pollination.
These may be biotic or abiotic agents. The
mechanism of pollination is described in
detail in the following sections.

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 POLLINATION

ON DIFFERENT
ON SAME PLANT PLANT

AUTOGAMY GEITONOMY XENOGAMY

TRANSFER OF TRANSFER OF
TRANSFER OF
POLLEN GRAIN POLLEN FROM
POLLEN GRAIN
ANTHER TO STIGMA
FROM ANTHER TO FROM ANTHER TO
OF DIFFERENT
STIGMA OF SAME STIGMA OF
FLOWER OF SAME
FLOWER DIFFERENT FLOWER
PLANT

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Self-pollination is an example of autogamy that
occurs in flowering plants. Self-pollination occurs
when the sperm in the pollen from the stamen of a
plant goes to the carpels of that same plant and
fertilizes the egg cell present. Self-pollination can
either be done completely autogamously or
geitonogamously. In the former, the egg and sperm
cells that united came from the same flower. In the
latter, the sperm and egg cells can come from a
different flower on the same plant. While the latter
method does blur the lines between autogamous
self-fertilization and normal sexual reproduction, it
is still considered autogamous self-fertilization.

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Geitonogamy is a type of self-pollination.
Geitonogamous pollination is sometimes
distinguished from the fertilizations that can result
from it, geitonogamy. If a plant is self-incompatible,
geitonogamy can reduce seed production.
In flowering plants, pollen is transferred from
a flower to another flower on the same plant, and in
animal pollinated systems this is accomplished by a
pollinator visiting multiple flowers on the same
plant. Geitonogamy is also possible within species
that are wind-pollinated, and may actually be a
quite common source of self-fertilized seeds in self-
compatible species. It also occurs
in monoecious gymnosperms. Although
geitonogamy is functionally cross-pollination
involving a pollinating agent, genetically it is
similar to autogamy since the pollen grains come
from the same plant.
Monoecious plants like maize show geitonogamy.
Geitonogamy is not possible for
strictly dioecious plants.

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 Xenogamy (Greek xenos=stranger, gamos=marri
age) is the transfer of pollen grains from the
anther to the stigma of a different plant. This is
the only type of pollination which during
pollination brings genetically different types of
pollen grains to the stigma.
The term xenogamy (along
with geitonogamy and autogamy) was first
suggested by Kerner in 1876. Cross-pollination
involves the transfer of pollen grains from the
flower of one plant to the stigma of the flower
of another plant.

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•Inbreeding result from mating between closely
related individuals.
• Inbreeding depression is the decline in fitness and
vigour with decreased heterozygosity.
• Inbreeding also reduce the reproductive ability.
• Self-pollinated crops show no inbreeding depression,
while cross-pollinated crop show variable degree of
inbreeding depression.

EFFECTS OF INBREEDING -
Generally inbreeding is concerned with a reduction in
vigour and reproductive capacity that is fertility.
1. Reduction in vigour.
2. Increase in homozygosity.
3. Reduction in reproductive ability.
4. Appearance of lethal and sub-lethal alleles.
5. Reduction in yield.

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Outbreeding devices for cross pollination:
1. Unisexuality or Dioecism: In this, plant either bears male
flowers or female flowers.
2. Dichogamy: Anther and stigma mature at different times
to avoid self pollination.
It is of two types :
 Protandry: Maturation of androecium before gynoecium
e.g. Maize.
 Protogyny: Maturation of gynoecium before androecium
e.g. Aristolochia
3. Herkogamy: It refers to presence of certain barriers in
flower which prevents self pollination. e.g. Gynostegium
and pollinia in Asclepiadaceae (Calotropis)
4. Heterostyly: In this, flowers of different plants of the
same species possess different lengths of stamens and
styles, thus avoid self pollination. e.g. Oxalis, Primula.
5. Self incompatibility: It is a phenomenon in which genetic
mechanism of flower prevents the fusion of gametes of
genetically similar plants. This is also called as self-
sterility and intraspecific incompatibility.

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 ANEMOPHILY WIND

HYDROPHILY WATER

ENTOMOPHILY INSECTS

AGENTS OF
POLLINATION ORNITHOPHILY BIRDS

CHIROPTEROPHILY BATS

MALACOPHILY SNAILS

OPHIOPHILY SNAKES
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Anemophily or wind pollination is a form
of pollination whereby pollen is distributed
by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are
anemophilous, as are many plants in the order
Poales, including grasses, sedges and rushes. Other
common anemophilous plants are oaks, sweet
chestnuts, alders and members of the
family Juglandaceae (hickory or walnut family).
Features of the wind-pollination syndrome include
a lack of scent production, a lack of showy floral
parts (resulting in inconspicuous flowers), reduced
production of nectar, and the production of
enormous numbers of pollen grains. This
distinguishes them
from entomophilous and zoophilous species
(whose pollen is spread
by insects and vertebrates respectively).
Anemophilous pollen grains are light and non-
sticky, so that they can be transported by air
currents. They are typically 20–60 micrometres
(0.0008–0.0024 in) in diameter, although the pollen
grains of Pinus species can be much larger and
much less dense. Anemophilous plants possess
well-exposed stamens so that the pollens are
exposed to wind currents and also have large and
feathery stigma to easily trap airborne pollen grains.
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Pollen from anemophilous plants tends to be smaller and lighter
than pollen from entomophilous ones, with very low nutritional
value to insects. However, insects sometimes gather pollen from
staminate anemophilous flowers at times when higher-
protein pollens from entomophilous flowers are scarce.
Anemophilous pollens may also be inadvertently captured
by bees' electrostatic field. This may explain why, though bees
are not observed to visit ragweed flowers, its pollen is often
found in honey made during the ragweed floral bloom. Other
flowers that are generally anemophilous are observed to be
actively worked by bees, with solitary bees often
visiting grass flowers, and the
larger honeybees and bumblebees frequently gathering pollen
from corn tassels and other grains.
Anemophily is an adaptation that helps to separate the male and
female reproductive systems of a single plant, reducing the
effects of inbreeding. It often accompanies dioecy – the presence
of male and female reproductive structures on separate plants.

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Hydrophily is a fairly uncommon form
of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by the flow
of waters, particularly in rivers and streams. Hydrophilous
species fall into two categories: those that distribute their
pollen to the surface of water, and those that distribute it
beneath the surface.
It is of 2 types-
• EPIHYDROPHILY-
Surface pollination is more frequent and appears to be a
transitional phase between wind pollination and true
hydrophily. In these the pollen floats on the surface and
reaches the stigmas of the female flowers as
in Hydrilla, Callitriche, Ruppia, Zostera, Elodea. In Vallisneria the
male flowers become detached and float on the surface of
the water; the anthers are thus brought in contact with
the stigmas of the female flowers. Surface hydrophily has
been observed in several species of Potamogeton as well as
some marine species.
• HYPOHYDROPHILY-
Species exhibiting true submerged hydrophily
include Najas, where the pollen grains are heavier than
water, and sinking down are caught by the stigmas of the
extremely simple female flowers, Posidonia
australis and Zostera marina.
Entomophily or insect pollination is a form
of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially
but not only of flowering plants, is distributed
by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects
typically advertise themselves with bright
colours, sometimes with conspicuous patterns
(honey guides) leading to rewards of pollen
and nectar; they may also have an attractive scent
which in some cases mimics insect pheromones.
Insect pollinators such as bees have adaptations
for their role, such as lapping or sucking
mouthparts to take in nectar, and in some species
also pollen baskets on their hind legs. This
required the co-evolution of insects and
flowering plants in the development of
pollination behavior by the insects and
pollination mechanisms by the flowers,
benefiting both groups.
Many plants, including flowering plants such
as grasses, are instead pollinated by other
mechanisms, such as by wind.
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Wind and water pollination require the production of vast
quantities of pollen because of the chancy nature of its
deposition. If they are not to be reliant on the wind or water
(for aquatic species), plants need pollinators to move their
pollen grains from one plant to another. They particularly need
pollinators to consistently choose flowers of the same species,
so they have evolved different lures to encourage specific
pollinators to maintain fidelity to the same species. The
attractions offered are mainly nectar, pollen, fragrances and oils.
The ideal pollinating insect is hairy (so that pollen adheres to
it), and spends time exploring the flower so that it comes into
contact with the reproductive structures.

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Ornithophily or bird pollination is
the pollination of flowering plants by birds.
This co evolutionary association is derived from
insect pollination (entomophily) and is
particularly well developed in some parts of the
world, especially in the tropics and on some island
chains. The association involves several distinctive
plant adaptations forming a "pollination
syndrome". The plants typically have colourful,
often red, flowers with long tubular structures
holding ample nectar and orientations of the
stamen and stigma that ensure contact with the
pollinator. Birds involved in ornithophily tend to
be specialist nectarivores with brushy tongues,
long bills, capable of hovering flight or are light
enough to perch on the flower structures.
Bird pollination is considered as a costly strategy
for plants and it evolves only where there are
particular benefits for the plant. High altitude
ecosystems that lack insect pollinators, those in
dry regions or isolated islands tend to favour the
evolution of ornithophily in plants.
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Plants adaptations can be grouped into mechanisms that attract
birds, those that exclude insects, protect against nectar theft
and pollination mechanisms in the strict sense. The ovules of
bird flowers also tend to have adaptations that protect them
from damage.
Most bird pollinated flowers are red and have a lot of nectar.
They also tend to be unscented. Flowers with generalized
pollinators tend to have dilute nectar but those that have
specialist pollinators such as hummingbirds or sunbirds tend to
have more concentrated nectar.

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Bat-pollinated flowers tend to be large and
showy, white or light coloured, open at night and
have strong odours. They are often large and bell-
shaped. Bats drink the nectar, and these plants
typically offer nectar for extended periods of
time. Sight, smell, and echo-location are used to
initially find the flowers, and excellent spatial
memory is used to visit them repeatedly. In fact,
bats can identify nectar-producing flowers using
echolocation. In the New World, bat pollinated
flowers often have sulfur-scented compounds,
but this does not carry to other parts of the
world. Bat-pollinated plants have bigger pollen
than their relatives.

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 Pollination by slugs and snails is called
malacophily. Land plants like
Chrysanthemum, Colocasia and water
plant like Lemna shows malacophily.

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Pollination by Snake is known as
Ophiophilly.
e.g., Santalum, Michelia, Arisaema.

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Pollination is the process by
which pollen is transferred to the female
reproductive organs of a plant, thereby
enabling fertilization to take place. Like
all living organisms, seed plants have a
single major purpose: to pass their genetic
information on to the next generation. The
reproductive unit is the seed, and
pollination is an essential step in the
production of seeds in
all spermatophytes (seedplants).

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1. GRB NEW ERA, BIOLOGY
2. TRUEMAN’S BIOLOGY
3. INTERNET
www.wikipedia.com
www.google.com
www.yahooanswers.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P
ollination

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