China: Demanding grain from saline-alkali land, expanding capacity and improving quality of chinese rice bowl

The article highlights the advancements in agricultural research in the Yellow River Delta, focusing on the development of a new soybean variety and innovative farming techniques to cultivate crops on saline-alkali lands. This initiative, located in the Shandong Province, aims to leverage around 550 million acres of previously unusable land, boosting arable space and enhancing crop yields. The new soybean variety is not only salt and alkali tolerant, but also enhances its nutritional value, including isoflavones. The region has adopted a pipeline water saving and salt reduction technology, which has dropped soil salinity levels and saved water by 38%. Additionally, the use of self-developed microbial agents, precision fertilization, and biological pest control methods have led to a 35% increase in vegetation coverage and over 30% increase in biological carbon sequestration. The area has also seen the development of 15 new quinoa varieties and 226 varieties of other plants, with 18,000 salt-tolerant germplasm resources collected and 37 new varieties bred for saline-alkali environments.