Difference Between Self Pollination and Cross Pollination

Self-pollination occurs when pollen from the same flower or plant fertilizes the ovules, while cross-pollination happens when pollen from one flower or plant fertilizes the ovules of another flower.

Table of Contents

As we all know that pollination occurs when Pollen Grains transfer from the Male reproductive part of the Flower ‘The Anther’ to the Female reproductive part ‘The stigma’. This process can occur either in the same flower or in two different flowers. Here, in this article, we are discussing the “Difference Between Self Pollination and Cross Pollination”.

Types of Pollination

There are two types of Pollination in Biology i.e. Self Pollination and Cross Pollination.

Self Pollination: Self Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from Anther to the Stigma of the same flower or two different flowers of the same plant.

Cross-Pollination: Cross-Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from anther to the stigma of two flowers that are present in two different plants.

Differentiate between Self Pollination and Cross Pollination

There are many differences between self pollination and cross pollination according to the number of pollen grains produced, movement of pollens, evolution, and many more, some of them are discussed below:

Self Pollination	Cross-Pollination
Self-pollination is the movement of Pollen Grains from Anther to Stigma either in a single flower or in two different flowers of the same plant.	Cross-pollination is the movement of pollen grains from Anther to Stigma of two different flowers of two different plants.
Self-pollination does not require any External Pollinating Agent for the transfer of pollen grains.	Cross-Pollination needs External Pollinating Agents such as wind, water, insects, and animals.
Self Pollination prevents the parental characteristics it occurs between genetically identical flowers.	Cross Pollination does not prevent any parental characteristics as it takes place between two genetically unidentical flowers.
The plants having Self Pollination may have small flowers.	Cross-pollination gives relatively larger flowers than self-pollination. The flowers are colorful and bright
Self Pollination helps in the production of Homozygous Offspring.	Cross-pollination produces heterozygous offspring.
It can take place even when the flower is closed.	It only occurs in open flowers.
Produces and transfers a limited number of Pollen Grains.	Produces and transfers a large number of pollen grains.
Self Pollination does not play any role in Evolution.	Cross-pollination plays a great role in evolution.
Self Pollination occurs only in 1/4th of the total number of flowering plants.	It occurs in almost 3/4th of the total number of flowering plants.
It limits a plant’s ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions.	It increases the plant’s ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Examples of self-pollination are wheat, barley, oats, rice, tomatoes, peaches, and apricots.	Examples of cross-pollination are apples, Pears, Strawberries, etc.

Advantages of Self-Pollination:

If there is no compatible plant nearby then also self-pollination can take place.
It leads to a high degree of genetic uniformity in the offspring.
It is useful in preserving desirable traits such as disease resistance.
Self-pollination allows a plant to reproduce at an early age than the plants that rely on cross-pollination.

Disadvantages of Self-Pollination:

Self-pollination reduces or limits a plant’s ability to adapt to changes in the environment.
It not only transfers useful traits but also the harmful ones .
It lacks genetic diversity. It also does not play any role in the evolution.
Poor-quality seeds are produced.

Advantages of Cross-Pollination

It leads to the evolution of new plant varieties and increases the adaptability of the species.
It allows the transfer of genetic material over a larger distance.
The plants having cross-pollination produce nectar and colorful flowers.
It gives good-quality seeds.
It gives genetic variability by combining the genetic material of two different species.

Disadvantages of Cross-Pollination

It can lead to unpredictable outcomes in terms of traits.
In cross pollination plants lose their specific desirable traits.
It leads to the production of hybrid species.
It can decrease the preservation of traditional plant varieties.

Difference Between Self Pollination and Cross Pollination: FAQs

Q1. Self pollination occurs in which type of plants?

Ans. Self pollination occurs in plants having small and genetically identical flowers.

Q2. Cross Pollination occurs in which type of flowers?

Ans. Cross pollination usually occurs in unisexual flowers.

Q3.Does cross pollination occur in monoecious or dioecious plants?

Ans. Both monoecious and dioecious requires cross pollination.

Q4. Why is Cross pollination better than Self pollination?

Ans. Cross pollination helps the flower to adapt to different environmental conditions while self pollination limits their adaptive properties.

Q5. What are the different types of cross pollinations?

Ans. Entomophily (pollination by insects), Anemophily (pollination by wind), Hydrophily (pollination by water), Zoophily (pollination by animals) and Ornithophily (pollination by birds).