The annatto plant is the only specie of the Bixa genera being originated in the
Tropical America. Among the naturally occurring colorants, annatto (from seeds of Bixa orellana)
ranks second in economic importance being the major producers Peru, Brazil and Kenya. The
propagation, by seeds, presents some problems because seed germination is low caused by seed
coat dormancy. This paper objective was to study the effect of the annatto seeds weight separation
on physiological seed quality and improved germination treatments. The experiment was conducted
splitting the original lot in four fractions named: light seeds, media seeds, heavy seeds and extra
heavy seeds. Seeds were evaluated through determination of the hundred seeds weight, moisture
content determination, germination test and dormancy overcome treatments as following: hot water
for 1, 3 and 5 minutes, pre imbibition for 24 hours before hot water for 1, 3 and 5 minutes and
mechanical scarification. Annatto seed separation, by weight, affected the physiological quality,
bigger seeds had higher quality, however, with more hard seeds. Mechanical scarification, as a
dormancy overcome treatment, was recommended in annatto seeds.