1. the percent of seeds, spores, or pollen grains in a given sample that actually germinate irrespective of time —note the effective germination capacity excludes cull seedlings and is therefore a lower measure than total germinative capacity 2. the percent of seeds germinating within twice the period of germinative energy 3. the number of seeds that germinate in a germinator, plus the number of sound seeds remaining at the end of the test, expressed as a percent of the total sample —note in any batch of seeds the percent that is pure, i.e., of the species required, multiplied by the germination capacity, gives the proportion of pure live seed —see seed purity, seed quality, viability This definition last updated 10/24/2008