URUMQI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The saline soil rice R&D team of Yuan Longping, the prestigious pioneer of hybrid rice, is expanding its planting scale on the western margin of the Taklimakan desert in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The area of the test field, in the township of Bayiawati, Yopurga County under Kashgar, has been expanded to 20 hectares this year from last year's 5.3 hectares, according to Cao Zhishun who leads the Xinjiang team.

Cao said the salinity of the local soil is as high as around 1.7 percent, with a pH value of over eight, indicating a high degree of salinity.

"The saline soil rice can improve soil and lower salinity, and turns saline soil into fertile farmland in three to five years," he said.

The township has a total 1,000 hectares of saline soil that is completely unsuitable for planting, said Alimjan, the township head.

Last year, the yield from the test field exceeded the expectation of Cao's team, making them more sure about the potential of their rice.

Cao said about 1,333,333 hectares, or 30 percent of arable land in Xinjiang, has been salinized at varying degrees, and the value of the saline soil rice in improving soil could be huge.