Munich - German scientists said Wednesday they had discovered the secrets of saline tolerance in wheat, holding out the promise that new varieties can be bred to grow under irrigation in salty desert soils.

The Technical University of Munich said the team led by Urs Schmidhalter had identified the features in certain organs of the wheat plant and at its various stages of growth.

Professor Schmidhalter said the upper two leaves of a salt- tolerant wheat plant had a different sort of surface and different concentrations of sodium and calcium from normal wheat plants.

The leaves had a protective waxy surface and a more efficient regulation of their pores to minimize loss of moisture. (dpa)