Viability Testing

Terraware allows you to record viability testing for all of your seed accessions. You can add a viability test a few ways:

1. Through the Viability Tests tab in the seed accession details page:
   1. Click on the Viability Tests tab (to the right of the history tab) 
   2. Click “Add Test”.
2. Through the viability card in the seed accessions details page:
   1. Rather than entering in a percentage value click “Add a Viability Test”.
3. Through performing a withdrawal:
   1. Click withdraw when in the accession details page.
   2. Select “Viability Test” as the purpose of your testing.

Each of the above will lead you to the viability test popup. You will need to enter in the following information:

1. Test Method: There are three options for viability test method.
   1. Lab Germination: Choose lab germination if you are doing the germination test in a lab environment. This refers to any environment where seeds are not placed in dirt to germinate!
   2. Nursery Germination: Choose nursery germination if you are doing the germination test in a nursery environment. This refers to any environment where seeds are placed in dirt/pots to germinate!
   3. Cut Test: Choose cut test if you are performing a destructive cut test to determine the viability of a batch of seeds. 
2. Seed Type: Condition of seeds when tested for viability 
   1. Fresh: Seeds which were recently collected and have not been stored in the seed bank; recommended to establish a baseline of viability for a new accession.
   2. Stored: Seeds which have been stored for any length of time; recommended to monitor viability over time in order to use seeds before viability is lost in storage.
3. Substrate: The substrate refers to the surface or material that an organism lives, grows, or obtains its nourishment from. The substrate options depend on which test method you are using. Below are the different substrate options we offer.
   1. For Cut Tests, there are no substrate options.
   2. For Lab Germination:
      • Agar Petri Dish: A dish that contains a growth medium of solidified agar.
      • Paper Petri Dish: A dish that contains a growth medium of germination paper.
      • Sand Petri Dish: A dish that contains a growth medium of sand.
      • Nursery Media: A substance through which roots grow and extract water and nutrients in a pot, tray, or other nursery container.
   3. For Nursery Germination:
      • Media Mix: A mix of substances through which roots grow and extract water and nutrients.
      • Soil: A black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.
      • Sand: A loose granular substance resulting from the erosion of siliceous and other rocks and forming a major constituent of beaches, riverbeds, the seabed, and deserts.
      • Moss: A small non-flowering, non-vascular plant which can be sterilized and used as a growth medium with high moisture retaining capacity.
      • Perlite/Vermiculite: Lightweight sand substitutes for soilless potting mixes which are often used to improve aeration and texture in potting soil and garden soil mixtures.
4. Treatment: Treatment refers to the biological, physical and chemical agents and techniques used to break dormancy and/or speed germination. The options are as follows:
   1. Soak: A process of imbibing a seed by immersing the seed in water, to break physical dormancy.
   2. Scarify: Weakening, opening, or otherwise altering the seed coat to make it permeable to water, to break physical dormancy.
   3. Chemical: Treating seeds with a plant growth hormone or other chemical to break physiological dormancy.
   4. Stratification: A process of exposing seeds to alternating temperatures, simulating natural conditions that seeds would experience, to break physiological dormancy.
5. Testing Staff: Testing staff defaults to the name associated with the current account. You can select any user who is a member of the organization. 
6. Start Date: The start date refers to the date the viability testing began on. 
7. # Seeds Tested: This is the quantity of seeds that were tested during the viability testing. You should only enter in this value once!
8. Add Observation: You can add an observation at any time during the viability testing. When you do you will be asked to enter in the check date (which defaults to the current date) and the # of seeds germinated on that date. Make sure to save after adding an observation!
9. Completing a Test: After you add an observation you can mark your testing complete. This will lead to the viability percentage being calculated and give you the option to set it as the accession’s viability.
10. Notes: This is a free-form text field for you to add any notes you want.