Response of spring cereals to a deficit of atmospheric precipitation in the particular stages of plant growth and development

In this study, the results of 330 field experiments of the Research Centre for Testing Cultivars (COBORU) conducted on spring cereals during the years 1976–2000 in the central part of Poland have been utilized. The aim of this work was to determine empirical indices of plant sensitivity to precipitation deficit requirements in relation to water requirements at basic developmental stages of spring cereals. The sensitivity of the plants to water deficit in three species of spring cereals, i.e. barley, wheat and triticale were determined, with the analysis of the relationship between the deficit of precipitation in relation to the water requirements during vegetative growth and the grain yield, employing the Pearson correlation coefficient. The statistically significant correlations were given in the form of regression equations for different stages of plant growth and development.