(Source: University of Connecticut) Andrew Hansen grows wheat, barley, canola, and oats on his farm at Coomandook in South Australia, where his family has farmed the land for more than 60 years. But now the family's way of life is threatened. As Australia's climate has changed, the water table under Hansen's farm has been rising. Saline-laden water rises to the surface and dries out in summer, increasing the salt concentration in the soil and retarding the growth of crops. Once-valuable croplands have been turned into pastures used primarily to feed stock. A new technology developed at UConn that enhances salinity tolerance in plants holds out hope for improving the crop yields of farms...
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