The laboratory technique known as ____ is frequently used in research for improving food crops by inducing individual plant cells to form embryos.

A) suckering
B) grafting
C) tissue culture propagation
D) in vitro fertilization
E) vegetative reproduction

Tissue culture propagation involves growing plant cells in a controlled laboratory environment, often to induce the formation of embryos. This process is commonly used in plant biotechnology to improve food crops, such as making them more resistant to pests or environmental stressors. Suckering, grafting, in vitro fertilization, and vegetative reproduction are all plant propagation techniques, but they do not specifically involve inducing embryo formation in individual plant cells.