- Annatto seeds, cultivar Casca Verde, harvested during 1988 at ?Piemonte da Borborema? zone in the State of Paraíba, Brazil, were examined in order to detect seed-borne fungi. The seeds immersed or not into 1% sodium hipochloride solution (pre-treatment) were incubated under different light conditions. Annatto seedlings were inoculated also with fungi isolated from seeds. The results indicated less occurrence of contaminant fungi on the pre-treated seeds. OnIy Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani were pathogenic to annatto seedlings. The fungi were found more frequently on seeds incubated under N.U.V. and fluorescent conditions, photoperiod of 12 hours.