What is one advantage of tissue culture in plant propagation?

One significant advantage of tissue culture in plant propagation is the production of disease-free plants. This method involves taking small portions of plant tissue and culturing them under sterile conditions, which minimizes the risk of contamination by pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Since tissue culture allows for the selection and propagation of only healthy plant cells, it ensures that the resulting plants are free from diseases that can negatively impact growth and productivity.

Additionally, the clean and controlled environment of tissue culture laboratories enables the propagation of these healthy plants in large numbers at a relatively rapid pace. This is crucial for agricultural practices where disease management is essential for yield and quality. The sterilization process inherent in tissue culture techniques significantly reduces the chances of diseases, leading to healthier crops and improved agricultural viability.

The other choices do not align with the key benefits of tissue culture. For example, growing large plants quickly is not necessarily a direct advantage of tissue culture, as the technique focuses more on producing regenerable plant material rather than large mature plants. Lower overall yield does not represent an advantage; in fact, tissue culture can often improve yields by producing more uniform and healthy plants. Lastly, tissue culture techniques have versatile applications across numerous species, allowing for the propagation of many plants, which contradicts the