Rains return on time in cotton, oilseed areas

Posted online: Friday , July 25, 2008 at 02:14 hrs Updated On: Friday , July 25, 2008 at 02:14 hrs India’s monsoon has revived in the biggest cotton, oilseeds and rice-growing areas, spurring sowing of crops which was delayed by below-average rainfall so far in July, the weather office said. Maharashtra and Gujarat, the largest cotton-growing states, and Andhra Pradesh, the second-biggest rice producer, received rains overnight, AB Mazumdar, deputy director general, India Meteorological Department, said. “We hope the new spell will last a few days,” he added. The June-September monsoon, which accounts for four-fifths of the nation’s annual rainfall, was below average in the first two weeks of July, delaying sowing of crops including rice, corn, cotton and soybeans. Showers in July account for a third of the rainy season and... [read full story]