Tracking Regular communication between silviculturists and nursery growers is strongly recommended once a seedling order has been placed. Commitment to a given delivery date carries the responsibility of taking possession of stock, even if the area to be planted is not ready. This responsibility means that contingency plans need to be formulated and that operational staff be prepared to make decisions concerning stock suitability. The ability to formulate and implement a contingency plan depends upon the silviculturists tracking the condition of both field sites and seedlings at the nursery. The number of seedlings meeting the stock type specifications at shipping time may be greater or less than what was ordered.
Losses occur due to such factors as poor germination, seedling mortality, and poor growth.
Seedling inventories of ministry funded requests are typically done twice for each crop. Silviculturists should reconcile inventory numbers against the number of seedlings requested to determine if contingency plans must be made. Inventory reports can be obtained directly from the nurseries. Reports for ministry-funded requests can be obtained from NSA as described in previous section. Silviculturists can adjust the size specifications for a request if the number of seedlings is less than the original order.