An international team of young and senior scientists proposed novel concepts and tools to predict seed vigor and plant robustness. Scientific concepts are based on the crucial role of alternative respiration for plant holobiont stress responses. This study was coordinated by Birgit Arnholdt-Schmitt (University of Évora) including results of the LIVESEED project and the international network FunCROP from India, Brazil, Ecuador and Portugal. It also illustrates a rapid way from advanced fundamental research to successful validation in the field. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01134/full