Scientists create salt-tolerant wheat

A SALT-tolerant wheat has been created by scientists that may help combat the threat to food production posed by climate change.

Grain yields are boosted by up to 25 per cent when the crop is grown in salty soils. In normal conditions, it performed as well as ordinary wheat.

The durum wheat strain, containing a wild salt-tolerance gene, was produced by conventional breeding methods rather than genetic modification.

Durum wheat is used to make foods such as pasta and couscous and is especially vulnerable to salinity.

With global food demand expected to rise by up to 110 per cent by 2050, finding crops that grow in poor conditions is becoming increasingly important.