Breeding salt-tolerant plants

The quinoa plant might serve as a model for making other crops salt-tolerant. It grows well on saline soils because the excess salt is simply dumped into special bladders on its leaves.

Researchers develop highest yielding salt tolerant wheat

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a major breakthrough for wheat farmers in salt-affected areas, CSIRO researchers have developed a salt tolerant durum wheat that yields 25 per cent more grain than the parent variety in saline soils.

Prairie cordgrass: Highly underrated

When D.K. Lee and Lane Rayburn, faculty members in the crop sciences department at the University of Illinois, talk about prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata) they have difficulty containing their enthusiasm. They are among ...

Soybean genetic treasure trove found in Swedish village

The first screening by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists of the American ancestors of soybeans for tolerance to ozone and other stresses had an eye-opening result: The world superstars of stress resistance ...

Bacteria engage sulfur for plant salt tolerance

Understanding the interplay between bacteria and sulfur is leading to exciting biotechnologies that could enable crops to be irrigated with salty water.

Gene boosts rice growth and yield in salty soil

Soil salinity poses a major threat to food security, greatly reducing the yield of agricultural crops. Rising global temperatures are expected to accelerate the buildup of salt in soil, placing an increasing burden on agricultural ...

Salt needed: Tolerance lessons from a dead sea fungus

Despite its name, the Dead Sea does support life, and not just in the sense of helping visitors float in its waters. Algae, bacteria, and fungi make up the limited number of species that can tolerate the extremely salty environment ...

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