Salinity in soils are a big problem when growing crops, especially wheat. This affects plants majorly as salt starts to build up in the leaves and can stop photosynthesis and salt in the ground and prevent the plant or crop from absorbing water from the soil. Scientists are modifying a gene in an Australian type of wheat called Durum, they are using a salt tolerant known as "TmHKT1;5-A" this works by excluding sodium from the leaves. Scientists have been doing field tests and these new wheat crops have been growing well but lots of people are against genetically modified food.
|
Salt tolerant crops are plants which can survive in high salinity level soils that normal plants normally die in. Salt tolerant plants are genetically modified by removing sodium from the plant's xylem, which is the area of the plant that carries water through it. By reducing the amount of salt plants takes in, it is able to to survive in area with high salinity. This is helpful to the world agricultural business as already 20% of the earth's land is affected by salinity. Although they are not yet commercially available, they show significant promise in aiding farmers. Being able to plant crops in areas which have not been successful in the past could lead to higher profit for the farmers.
|