Seed Life

the period of time during which a seed is able to germinate. A distinction is drawn between the biological life and the agricultural life of a seed. The biological seed life is the period during which at least one individual seed of a given lot remains able to germinate. The agricultural life is the period during which a particular type of seed maintains a specific germination percentage established by the All-Union State Standard; the seed remains officially certified for that period of time. The biological seed life is estimated in terms of decades (for example, alfalfa and clover); the agricultural life of a seed numbers only a few years.