Amid the sprawling desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Chinese scientists are harnessing advanced greenhouse technologies to unleash the agricultural potential of the otherwise infertile land. In Yang's view, the harsh climate in the Hotan desert provides an opportunity rather than a hindrance. According to Yang, by using energy-efficient technologies in Hotan desert greenhouses, running costs were significantly reduced compared to conventional greenhouses. "Currently, the construction cost of energy-saving desert greenhouses is 350 yuan (about 48.2 U.S. dollars) per square meter, around one-third of that of Dutch glasshouses. Yang said this breakthrough in the speed breeding technology of desert greenhouse crops provides technical support for using desert greenhouses to carry out annual crop production and speed breeding in Xinjiang in the future.
