Scientists in China's Xinjiang region are growing exceptionally tall wheat-rye hybrid crops, known as triticale, in desert areas. These hybrids are adaptable to harsh conditions and provide both food and animal feed.

Scientists in China are growing towering hybrids of wheat and rye – taller even than some humans – in the deserts of its western Xinjiang region. The hybrids, known as triticale, can adapt more easily than wheat to challenging conditions and, in addition to providing food for humans, their stalks and leaves can be used for animal feed. “It is tolerant of poor soil, cold, drought, salinity, and wind and sand,” Kuang Feiting, the executive director of Xinjiang Maishengdao Biotechnology, the firm.....