In sunflower (Helianthus Annuus, L) breeding programs. dormancy limits the number of crop cycles per year: it also leads to asynchronous blossom times, restricting the opportunity to make crosses between plants. This study evaluated simple techniques to break dormancy in sunflower. A preliminary laboratory study confirmed that only 32% of non-treated plants emerged, whereas exposure of seed to a cold treatment improved the germination to 92%. The subsequent field experiment tested four treatments intended to break possible dormancy effects. Six sunflower inbred lines were grown and harvested 30 days after flowering to assure enough time for embryo development while promoting dormancy. The first two treatments were aimed at removing physical dormancy by chipping a minuscule section of the pericarp or by exposing the seed to temperature oscillation to degrade impermeable layers. The other two treatments worked at the hormone level of dormancy by placing seeds in a saturated atmosphere of ethylene gas or by submerging the seed in ethrel (liquid ethylene). The four treatments were compared to a control, in which seeds were kept in the cold at night and at room temperature during day. The experiment was arranged in a split plot randomized complete block design (RCBD) and evaluated with analysis of variance. The highest mean emergence was obtained in the control (54%) and temperature oscillation (52%) treatments. Mean emergence for the seed chipping treatment was 32%, which was significantly (P