Understand the relationship
The reasoning behind the result
The assessment point defines the numerator
A germinated seed is counted using the criterion and assessment time of the actual method. This calculator does not choose that criterion, classify abnormal seedlings or replace a formal seed-testing protocol.
An earlier assessment and a later assessment can yield different fractions without any arithmetic inconsistency. Name the time or assessment point so the recorded outcome remains interpretable.
Pool seeds rather than percentages
Pooled assessed percentage = 100Σgerminated/Σassessed
Seed lots may have different sizes. Adding their germinated and assessed counts weights each seed equally in the pooled descriptive fraction. Averaging the percentages equally instead gives each lot equal weight.
If lots differ in species, treatment or assessment criteria, retain the individual rows and decide whether a pooled result describes a useful quantity. Pooling is not a test of a treatment effect.
Missing status creates a range of possible lot fractions
Unassessed seeds are excluded from the assessed denominator. The lower whole-lot bound assumes none of them germinated; the upper bound assumes all did. These bounds show what the missing information could change.
No recorded germination at one assessment does not prove that every seed is nonviable or that later germination is impossible. The result remains a time-specific record.
Follow the numbers
72 confirmed outcomes with 10 unknown
- Initial lot: 100 seeds. Unknown status: 10. Assessed denominator: 90.
- Confirmed germinated: 72. Among assessed seeds, 72/90 × 100 = 80%.
- Across the complete lot, the logical fraction lies from 72/100 = 72% to 82/100 = 82%.
80% describes assessed seeds. The complete lot's recorded uncertainty is represented by the 72–82% bounds.
Quick guide
How to use this calculator
- Enter the assessment period and each group's seeds in the initial lot.
- Record confirmed confirmed germinated seeds separately from unknown outcomes.
- Read the assessed denominator and the full-cohort bounds before comparing percentages.
- Pool only cohorts whose observation period and outcome definition make a combined fraction meaningful.
Calculation method
Calculation and interpretation
Calculate the recorded germination share at a stated assessment point without treating unassessed seeds as failures.
Assessed = initial − unknown; observed fraction = confirmed/assessed; whole-cohort bounds = confirmed/initial to (confirmed + unknown)/initial
Worked example
72 confirmed outcomes with 10 unknown
80% describes assessed seeds. The complete lot's recorded uncertainty is represented by the 72–82% bounds.
Assessed = initial − unknown; observed fraction = confirmed/assessed; whole-cohort bounds = confirmed/initial to (confirmed + unknown)/initial
Supported inputs
Precision and limits
Descriptive cohort records
A recorded fraction does not establish a biological cause or predict an individual's outcome. Keep counting definitions, observation period and missing-status rules consistent. No treatment, husbandry or management action is prescribed.
Unknown outcomes are not failures
The assessed fraction excludes unknown status. The full-cohort bounds show the possible fraction if all unknowns were non-events or all were events; they are logical bounds, not a statistical confidence interval.
Continue calculating
Related calculators
