HORTICULTURE

Detailed explanation-1: -Seeds are dispersed in several different ways. In some plants seeds are housed within a fruit (such as apples or oranges). These fruits, including the seeds, are eaten by animals who then disperse the seeds when they defecate. Some fruits can be carried by water, such as a floating coconut.

Detailed explanation-2: -Dates, rambutan, sea grapes, sea holly, tamarind, raspberry, sunflower, tomatoes are a few examples of plants whose seeds are dispersed by animals and birds.

Detailed explanation-3: -Examples include mangoes, guavas, breadfruit, carob, and several fig species. In South Africa, a desert melon (Cucumis humifructus) participates in a symbiotic relationship with aardvarks-the animals eat the fruit for its water content and bury their own dung, which contains the seeds, near their burrows.

Detailed explanation-4: -Animals can disperse seeds by excreting or burying them; other fruits have structures, such as hooks, that attach themselves to animals’ fur. Humans also play a role as dispersers by moving fruit to new places and discarding the inedible portions containing the seeds.

Detailed explanation-5: -Plant species with fleshy fruits offer animals rewards such as sugar, protein, and fat, to feed on their fruits and disperse their seeds. They have also evolved visual and olfactory signals indicating their presence and ripeness. In some systems, fruit color serves as a reliable visual signal of nutrient content.