March 12/Adelaide, Australia/Bloomberg Businessweek -- Australian scientists bred salt tolerance into durum wheat for the first time, boosting grain yields by 25% in saline soils, according to the University of Adelaide.
The scientists introduced a salt-tolerant gene from a wheat relative into a commercial variety of durum wheat using traditional breeding methods in first-of-its-kind research that may boost food security, the university wrote in a statement on its website.