Good pre-monsoon showers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are good reason for farmers to begin sowing soybean, but with the monsoon yet to hit key growing regions in the states, there are now concerns over the standing crop. Govt officials said that while the plants had started withering in Madhya Pradesh, the crop condition in Maharashtra is better. Farmers have mostly sown the oilseed in western Madhya Pradesh following good pre-monsoon showers, but a delay in the onset of the monsoon is likely to lead to heat stress in the soil. In Madhya Pradesh acreage under the oilseed is 50,000-70,000 ha. In Maharashtra, soybean has been sown over 45,883 ha as on Jun 16 vs 38,491 ha.