ABC of cereal development and growth is a basic text that provides comprehensive information on development and growth of cereals. The book places particular emphasis on spring barley, oat and wheat. Development and growth processes are covered from germination and seedling emergence to ripening and maturity. This book familiarizes the reader with basic concepts and describes the role of the genome, growth conditions and crop management practices used in controlling cereal development and growth. The aim is to increase understanding of the processes that are especially responsive to management, those which can be altered by plant breeding and others that are solely under natural control. Furthermore, the book describes the structure of a cereal plant and details how different organs are differentiated prior to their growth. Numerous development and growth stages have been illustrated with drawings and photographs. In addition, formation of plant stands and yield are characterized. Different development and growth scales are described and compared. Individual growth stages are described in terms of a complete process. Interactions and interrelationships between different development and growth phases are discussed with emphasis on northern growing conditions, which are exceptional in many ways. Finally we provide practical instructions to assist in identification of particular cereal developmental stages. Numerous drawings and photographs make this easier. This book is written in Finnish, but the terminology used is also given in Swedish and English in an appendix.