China is growing giant wheat-rye hybrids in its western deserts. Here’s why

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...