Drought impact on production of cereals

Cilj rada je bio dati prikaz klimatskih promjena s osvrtom na sušu i njen utjecaj na čovjeka, okoliš i poljoprivredu, osobito biljnu proizvodnju, a posebna pozornost posvećena je utjecaju suše na proizvodnju žitarica. Pojam suše analiziran je s više aspekata. Klima se definira kao prosječno stanje vremenskih prilika izraženo kroz određene vrijednosti kao što su temperatura, količina i raspored oborina u dužem vremenskom razdoblju. Rast temperature, porast razine mora, erozije i ekstremni događaji poput suše, poplave i oluja glavna su obilježja klimatskih promjena. Navedene promjene događaju se istovremeno s rastom populacije svjetskog stanovništva što predstavlja veliki problem na globalnoj razini zbog potrebe za proizvodnjom veće količine hrane. Pred poljoprivredu je stavljen veliki izazov povećanja razine proizvodnje hrane uz nepovoljne uvjete kao što je suša. Sušni stres posebna je vrsta abiotičkog stresa koji nastaje uslijed nedovoljne količine vode potrebne za normalan rast i razvoj biljke što rezultira niskim prinosima. Žitarice, kao ključne biljke za ljudsku prehranu koje zauzimaju najveći udio poljoprivrednih površina, pod posebnim su povećalom kada je riječ o klimatskim promjenama. U radu su pobliže opisana svojstva i potrebe za vodom najzastupljenijih žitarica - kukuruza, pšenice i ječma te njihova reakcija na sušu. Navodnjavanje, oplemenjivanje na tolerantnost na sušu i adekvatna agrotehnika najčešće su metode koje se koriste za ublažavanje posljedica suše.The aim of the paper was to present climate change with a view to drought and its impact on humans, the environment and agriculture, especially crop production, with particular attention to the impact of drought on cereal production. The concept of drought has been analyzed in several aspects.Climate is defined as the average condition of weather, expressed through certain values such as temperature, amount and distribution of precipitation over a long period of time. Rising temperature, rising sea levels, erosion and extreme events such as drought, floods, and storms are the main features of climate changes. These changes occur at the same time as the world's population growth which is a big problem globally due to the necessity of producing more food. Agriculture faces the great challenge of increasing the level of food production under unfavorable conditions such as drought. Drought stress is a special type of abiotic stress that results from the insufficient amount of water required for normal plant growth and development which results in low yields. On cereals, as key plants for human consumption that occupy the largest share of agricultural land, are given particular attention when it comes to climate change. The paper describes the properties and water needs of the most common cereals - maize, wheat and barley and their reaction to drought. Irrigation, breeding for drought tolerance and adequate agro-technology are the most common methods used to mitigate the effects of drough