Washington, Oct 6 (ANI): By tweaking a single gene in plants, scientists would now be able to use a large portion of Earths now-inhospitable soil to grow crops, alleviating one of the most pressing problems facing the planets rapidly growing population.

According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), scientists at the University of California, Riverside, made plants tolerant of poisonous aluminum by tweaking a single gene.

This may allow crops to thrive in the 40 to 50 percent of Earths soils currently rendered toxic by the metal.

Aluminum toxicity is a very limiting factor, especially in developing countries, in South America and Africa and Indonesia, said biochemist Paul Larsen.

Its not like these areas are devoid of plant life, but theyre not crop plants. Among agriculturally important plants, there arent mechanisms for aluminum tolerance, he added.

The planet is rapidly running out of room to grow food, and scientists say that the worlds booming population - expected to swell by half in the next 50 years - will outstrip food production.

Theres no more room for farms in the developed world.

Demand for cropland is fueling deforestation in the rain forests of Latin America and Africa; and the limits of the Green Revolution, which increased global food production through the use of pesticides and industrial farming techniques, have been reached. (ANI)