The ?guinea grass? (Panicum maximum Jacq.) guiné cultivar is an important forage crop in tropical America. The subject of this study was to evaluate the effect of the seed scarification with sulphuric acid associated wiith pre-chilling to overcome dormancy. There fot seed Iots were harvest mechanically, not beneficied and were evaluated at the 6th, 8th 10th 12th and l4th month after harvest. For germination teste was used: (K/L) KNO3 0,2% in presence of ligth; (K/L/E) KNO3, ligth and scarification (5 minutes); (L/L/E/P) Iigth, scarification and pre-chilling 7 days/5°C; (K/L/P) KNO3, ligth and
pre-chilling. The seeds were allowed to germinate for 28 days at alternate temperatures of 15-35°C (16-8 hours. Conclusions were: (a) the pre-chlling treatment (number 3) was nor efficient as compared with the
treatments number (1) and (2), for dormancy superation; (b) the best germination, from pre-chilling, was observed when the seed were scarified, with the exeption of germination on the 6th month, where the germination of non sca:Eeo seed was superior and the results were similar for scarified and non scarified seedat 14th month; (c) at the 6th, 8th and 14th rnonts of storage, the best germination was with non scarified seeds (number 1); at the 10th and 12th months of storage, the best germination was with scarification; (d) the seed Iot number two was that presents the best physiological performance in the storage.