CALIFORNIANS MAY PLANT LESS RICE AND COTTON

WASHINGTON The California drought may make a dent in this year's U.S. cotton and rice production, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday.

Because of the drought, California farmers may not plant as much cotton and rice as they indicated in a recent survey, a department report said.

''The state is the second largest producer of both crops,'' it said. ''Growers there are enduring one of the state's longest and most severe droughts. And this year has been among the driest ever.''

According to the recent survey, farmers nationally said they intend to plant 4 percent more corn, 1 percent more soybeans, 2 percent more rice, 18 percent more cotton, 19 percent more sorghum, and 36 percent more sunflowers than they did last year.

However, spring wheat plantings were indicated to decline 13 percent from 1990, reflecting farmers' outlook for prices and costs of production. Burdened by large U.S. and global supplies, wheat price have been depressed.