Which statement best describes the difference between a cutting and a graft in vegetative propagation?

• A. A cutting is a piece of a plant that can be rooted to become a new plant; a graft is a joining of tissues from two plants so they grow together.
• B. A cutting is propagated by grafting onto a rootstock.
• C. A cutting and a graft are two terms for the same process.
• D. A cutting requires two plants joined; a graft is a single stem cut.

Answer: (B)

In vegetative propagation, the key distinction is how the new plant arises. A cutting is a piece of a plant that is placed in a suitable medium and conditions until it develops roots and grows into an independent plant that is genetically identical to the parent. A graft, by contrast, is a deliberate joining of tissues from two separate plants so they grow together as one plant, with the root system typically supplied by the rootstock and the shoot by the scion.

So, cuttings form a new plant on their own through root development, while grafting creates a single plant by fusing tissues from two plants. Some specialized techniques use a cutting as the scion in a graft onto a rootstock, but the fundamental difference remains: one method centers on rooting of a piece to become a new plant, the other on joining two plants to function as a single plant.