The city's cutting-edge scientists have managed to turn a desert into an oasis, thanks to a "designer coat" they developed for plant seeds.

The seeds have transformed about 700,000 hectares of sand land into greenery in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

According to statistics from the Erdos City Forest Bureau of Inner Mongolia, the seed survival rate has increased to 50 percent from 20 percent since the coated variety created by the Shanghai Agriculture Science & Technology Seed Co Ltd have been used.

It has been a gradual process, but in the past four years the seeds have been instrumental in making an area of greenery bigger than the city's urban area within the Outer Ring Road.

"In the severe desert environment, the intense heat, drought and birds and animals cause many seeds to die," said Zhou Zhijiang, general manager of the local seed company. "By letting the seeds wear the high-tech coat, we succeed in greatly improving their survival ability."

Seeds are put into a machine and suspended in the air under centrifugal force. They are then mixed with a dark red medicament that coats them, Zhou said.

The red mixture has a threefold benefit:

It makes the seed able to absorb water 100 times its own weight.

It drives birds and animals away.

It helps the plant resist disease.

"The seeds can then be sowed by a plane more accurately," said Zhu Rongfang, a senior agronomist of the company.

(Source: www.shanghai.gov.cn )