An understanding of dormancy mechanisms is of ecological and economic importance. Identification of the level at which dormancy is imposed appears to be species specific. The variation brought about by this therefore requires that developmental studies be included in seed coat dormancy experiments. In most cases, a site of permeability can be identified during the developmental process, and this information can be utilized later to remove dormancy. Under natural conditions, the removal of seed coat dormancy requires the interaction of a number of ecological and physiological dormancy-breaking cues.