Criteria for using seedling performance potential tests

The concepts and principles in characterization of seedling performance potential are evaluated, the requirements of tests are discussed, and the guideline criteria presented in selected morphological and physiological tests are assessed. Further discussion follows concerning the development of proper concepts as a necessity for developing clear and operational devices, and problems in making predictions of survival and growth. When using a seedling performance potential test, the following features should be taken into an account:

basis of assessment; empirical or mechanistic

ability to accommodate changes in seedlings

prediction span

rules and scale of measurement

possibility to use in statistical quality control

applicability to different methods of characterization; single or sample sorting

design for site specific conditions

applicability for quality control during seedling raising in the nursery

suitability to repeated sampling

Clear practical requirements for a test are: yielding final results immediately, simple to understand and use at all levels of operation, inexpensive, accessible to all potential users, reliable, and of diagnostic value. Strong practicability of the performance potential tests require use of rigorous statistical analysis to find seedling tests with adequate prediction ability.