The trials, held at Corrigin in the state’s central wheat belt, are looking at potential salt-tolerant varieties, and are being conducted by the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG)

ACPFG researcher Stuart Roy said that in low salt areas, GM barley yielded 20 to 30 per cent higher than non-GM barley.

More impressively, in salty areas, yields were up 50 to 70 per cent more grains per plant.

Dr Roy said the trial had been a success and gave researchers hope for trials in the future. The aim was to test the field site and to see if our most advanced and promising lines worked in the field, Dr Roy said.