Staff members harvest salt-tolerant potatoes in a saline-alkali simulation greenhouse at Xisen Potato Industry Group on Saturday in Laoling, Shandong province. [Photo by Jia Peng/For chinadaily.com.cn]

After more than two decades of research, the National Engineering Research Center for Potatoes and Xisen Potato Industry Group have developed breakthrough salt-tolerant potato varieties, opening the door for the crop to be grown in saline-alkali soils.

The collaboration has established a leading domestic germplasm resource bank for salt-tolerant potatoes, with over 2,800 preserved accessions. Researchers have developed a standardized evaluation system for salt tolerance and bred six new salt-tolerant varieties.

Among them, Xisen No 53 has achieved a remarkable yield of over 3,000 kg per mu in saline soils with a salt content of five per thousand. These improved varieties and cultivation techniques have been extended to more than 10,000 mu (around 666.67 hectares) in the Yellow River Delta region, offering a scientific solution for food security and utilizing marginal lands.