Prospects of summer crops like rice, pulses and oilseeds are good in most parts of the country, barring some interior parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, IMD chief said on Tuesday.

More than 50 per cent of the sowing of summer crops has been completed so far in this kharif season and farmers have taken up pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals in a big way, as per the latest data of the Agriculture Ministry.

Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June.

So far, there has been 4 per cent deficit rains in the country, while in July alone the rainfall deficiency was about 17 per cent, as per the Met Department.