Chinese salt-tolerant rice bears fruit in Dubai

Agricultural scientists from China who set a rice production record in a Dubai desert are expanding their test plantings to look for even more productive strains that suit local palates.

The average annual yield - 9.4 metric tons per hectare - has already more than doubled that of previous rice cultivation efforts in Dubai led by India and Pakistan, according to Cheng Yunfeng, manager of Wuhan Haidao International, which is based in Hubei province and oversees the trial planting program.

Cheng said production was similar to high-yield varieties intended for conventional arable land.