A soybean-corn combined planting belt is seen in the area. ZHAO YIMENG/CHINA DAILY

Production potential

Li Yuyi, chief scientist of saline-alkaline soil improvement at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that although the area of salty land is included in calculations of the country's total arable land, its production capacity is only about half that of more-productive farmland.

"These soils have great potential to increase the level of grain production," Li said.

He added that the traditional way of managing the soil through water conservation projects poses environmental challenges because it wastes large amounts of water.

Saving water, controlling the salt content and ensuring adequate fertilization are the keys to using the soil in an environmentally friendly way. Instead of disturbing the ecosystem by saturating salty soil, the precise irrigation and water-saving facilities can control salt levels while saving water, he added.

"Now, we are working on qualified use of the soils and studying suitable crop varieties planted on saline-alkaline land," Li said.