THE PRODUCTION TENDENCIES OF MAIN GRAIN CROPS IN BULGARIA UNDER CONTEMPORARY AGROMETEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGES.

Global and regional climate change is disturbing all sectors of the national economy. The most affected is agriculture, which takes place under open sky. Bulgaria is located in area with insufficient atmospheric and soil moisture. Climate change cause changes in agro-meteorological conditions and agro-climatic resources, depending on the geographical location. All agro technical activities - sowing, soil cultivation, fertilization, plant protection and harvesting, are highly dependent on weather conditions. The crops development, quantity and quality of production are determined to a great extent by the weather conditions, in particular, by those which have an adverse effect on plants and production processes such as drought, torrential rain and hail. Agricultural production is connected with many risks. Therefore, solving problems in this production area must be linked to agro-climatic and agro-meteorological research to improve agro-technologies with aim to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt the agriculture sector to these changes. The purpose of this study is to define trends in production and average yields of basic agricultural crops in Bulgaria over the last two decades in climate change and different weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]