Plants for food and fibre
Plants build their own food from light, water and carbon dioxide, and growers manage soil, pollination and breeding to raise the yield.
A worked example
If a lab test on 450 wheat seeds shows a 96% germination rate, 450 x 0.96 = 432 seeds sprout.
The mistake people actually make
Soil does not feed a plant its food. The plant makes that itself and draws only water and dissolved minerals from the ground. A germination rate measured in a lab is always higher than the number of plants that come up in a field.