Morphology Targets: What Do Seedling Morphological Attributes Tell Us?

Morphology is classically defined as the form and structure of individual organisms, as distinct from their anatomy or physiology. We use morphological targets in the nursery because they are easy to measure, and because we can often quantitatively link seedling morphological traits with survival and growth performance in the field. In the 20 years since the Target Seedling Concept was developed, morphological targets remain some of the most commonly used attributes to link seedling quality and field performance. Traits such as, height and root-collar diameter are still standard attributes, but others have also proven their worth despite being more difficult to measure.