Anyone acquiring a sample of seeds for growing, would be hopeful that most of the seeds would germinate in a timely manner and regardless of the normal stressors that are apparent in agricultural / horticultural environments, i.e., that the acquired seed lot has high viability and vigour. For seed producers, this requires knowledge of how to produce, process and then store seeds before they reach the end-user. Factors to consider include the environment during seed development and at harvest; post-harvest processes that might allow seed maturation to continue off-plant or advance the seeds towards germination; and the moisture content, temperature and gaseous environment the seeds experience during storage. Ageing will inevitably occur during storage; monitoring may be required to ensure that acceptable levels of viability and vigour are present in the seeds that are distributed for sowing.