-The Hindu Business Line State faces 73% deficit in rainfall;next 10 days most crucial, says farm minister Ahmedabad: Even though overall monsoon rainfall has been a tad above the Long Period Average (LPA) for the country, Gujarat remains the driest place and faces a severe rainfall deficit of 73 per cent of the LPA. As the key sowing period of July nears its end, the State government is betting big on the optimistic...

-The Hindu Business Line Bengaluru: Pulses such as tur (arhar), urad, moong, and oilseeds — mainly groundnut and sunflower — and maize have turned out to be the hot favourites of farmers, who have brought a larger area under these crops in the ongoing kharif planting season. The prevailing high prices, coupled with an increase in the support price and bonus incentive announced by the Centre, is the main reason farmers in...

-Hindustan Times Indore: Soybean crop has been affected for the third consecutive year in Madhya Pradesh as excessive rain in Satna, Rewa and Bhopal regions will necessitate re-sowing once the water recedes, an agriculture expert said. Madhya Pradesh is the top producer of soybean in the country and accounts for 53% of its production, according to government statistics. “Farmers will have to go for re-sowing wherever there has been water logging in fields...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The season's rainfall deficit contracted to 2% from 6% in a day on Monday. The weather office has forecast heavy showers in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and t parts of east in the next 24 hours. This could speed up planting of i paddy, oilseeds, coarse cereals, cotton, sugarcane and pulses. Monday's rainfall, 14.8 mm, was 74% higher than normal, as monsoon reached new areas...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Monsoon rainfall continued to lash fields across India, prompting farmers to rapidly plant rice, lentils and other crops as the crucial weather system is maintaining the momentum after a sluggish start. Rice planting galloped to cover two and a half times the area sown last week, and caught up with last year's level even though sowing of crops began more than two weeks late. Planting of pulses...