This chapter discusses some of the latest findings related to the genetics of drought resistance of the world's most widely grown cereals. The chapter starts with rice because of its key role as an ancestral founder species and phylogenetically pivotal role for cereal evolution. The chapter then reviews barley, second in phylogeny after rice, durum wheat, bread wheat, sorghum and maize.

Ambra Viviani, Roberto Tuberosa and Marco Maccaferri, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL) - University of Bologna, Italy

• 1 Introduction: drought stress in cereal crops
• 2 Rice: understanding and optimizing drought tolerance
• 3 Barley: understanding and optimizing drought tolerance
• 4 Durum (tetraploid) wheat: understanding and optimizing drought tolerance
• 5 Bread (hexaploid) wheat: understanding and optimizing drought tolerance
• 6 Sorghum: understanding and optimizing drought tolerance
• 7 Maize: understanding and optimizing drought tolerance
• 8 Conclusion and future trends
• 9 Where to look for further information
• 10 References