Monsoon eases, boosting summer crop planting

By Ratnajyoti Dutta

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains may ease again next week after heavy downpours for nearly a month, weather experts said on Thursday, bringing relief to flood-hit areas and giving room to speed up planting of summer crops such as rice, soybean and cotton.

Rains were three percent above average in the week that ended on June 26, data from the weather office on Thursday showed, after the monsoon poured 54 percent more than average rains on the sub-continent in the first three weeks from June 1.

The rains caused fatal flooding in northern India and forced tens of thousands from their homes, prompting a massive relief and rescue effort.

But the monsoon remains crucial for the 55 percent of the country's farmland that relies on it for irrigation to grow crops. India is one of the world's biggest producers of cereals and sugar, but also has one of the largest populations to feed.

In general, above average early rains help moisten the soil, enabling better preparation for seeds and early planting, although there had been concerns that such persistent heavy rains could prevent farmers from getting out to sow.

Weather office officials said the rains would ease in northwest and central parts of the country next week, allowing farmers to plant rice, cereals, pulses, soybean and cotton.

"A slowdown in the monsoon at this juncture will expedite summer plantings," said K.K. Singh, head of the agricultural meteorology of the Indian weather office.

This year's monsoon drenched the whole country in record time, almost a month ahead of schedule.

"The mayhem due to floods and landslides took place in the non-crop areas of Uttarkhand, and also flood water did not log in the cane fields of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh," said Sudhir Panwar, president of farmers' group Kishan Jagriti Manch.

Rains were heavy in the past week over rice-growing areas of eastern India, while the rains eased in cane- and cotton-growing areas of south, central and western India.

Soybean belts of central and western regions received good rains, speeding up the sowing of the main summer oilseed crop.

"Even distribution of rainfall has helped completion of at least 80 percent of soybean planting in the main areas," said Rajesh Agrawal, chief coordinator at the Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India.

Soybean planting would almost be over by the first week of July, as the rains are expected to ease over the central parts from next week, he added.

(Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Jeff Coelho)