§1What this business is
This is a service centre for fruit growers, not a nursery. The centre sprays orchards with its own power and foot sprayers, supplies about half of the fungicides and insecticides used, and takes up pruning for about a month a year. In the harvest season the entrepreneur and two labourers pick, grade and pack fruit in the orchard. It also guides growers on quality, marketing and technical inputs, arranges soil and leaf analysis, and supplies quality plant material and reading material in the local language.
Capacity: 15,000 fruit trees sprayed six times a year and 4,000 boxes picked, graded and packed. The area should have more than 200 ha of orchards, with farmers on about 100 ha willing to use the service.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A horticulture or agriculture graduate living in a fruit-growing belt.
Who it is not for
Someone in an area with scattered or very few orchards.
Advantages
- Very low outlay of about ₹1.12 lakh
- Orchards need six sprays a year, so customers repeat
- Sale of fungicides and pesticides earns more than the spraying itself
- Picking, grading and pruning fill the months between sprays
Drawbacks
- Works only where orchards are dense — more than 200 ha nearby
- The first year reaches only 60% of full income
- ₹2,00,000 a year is tied up in fungicides and insecticides
- The rates of ₹1.50 per tree and ₹5 per box are old and must be reset
Skills you need
- Pests and diseases of fruit trees and spray schedules
- Pruning and training of trees and vines
- Grading and packing fruit for market
- Safe handling of pesticides
Why difficulty 2/5: Small investment and simple equipment, but it needs horticulture knowledge and a dense orchard area.
§3Market
Who buys
- Orchard owners and fruit growers
- Vineyard owners needing pruning
How it sells
- Custom spraying in the orchard, charged per tree
- Picking, grading and packing in the orchard, charged per box
- Sale of fungicides, pesticides and plant material from the centre
Good to know
- The model assumes ₹1.50 per tree per spray, ₹2.50 per tree for fungicide and pesticide, and ₹5 per box for picking, grading and packing.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Power sprayer (3.5 HP) | 1 | ₹25,000 |
| Tool kit with gas mask, spraying coat and gum boots | 1 set | ₹3,000 |
| Foot sprayers | 2 | ₹4,000 |
| Tubs, buckets and jugs | 2 sets | ₹3,000 |
| Horticultural tool kit | — | ₹5,000 |
From: MANAGE Agri-Clinics & Agri-Business Centres model project — Horticulture Clinic and Business Centre — private guide — confirm locally
- Fungicides and insecticides for spraying₹2,00,000 a year in the model; the centre supplies half and growers the rest
- Petrol and lubricants₹33,000 a year with maintenance
From: MANAGE Agri-Clinics & Agri-Business Centres model project — Horticulture Clinic and Business Centre — private guide — confirm locally
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- Licence to sell and stock insecticides from the State Agriculture Department
- GST registration if turnover crosses the limit
- Trade licence from the local body where required
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
At about ₹1.12 lakh this fits a Mudra loan and is far below PMEGP's ₹20 lakh limit for service units. The model was written for the Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres scheme for agriculture graduates — check its current terms with the bank.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Capital cost ₹40,000 (one 3.5 HP power sprayer ₹25,000; tool kit with gas mask, spraying coat and gum boots ₹3,000; 2 foot sprayers ₹4,000; tubs, buckets and jugs ₹3,000; horticultural tool kit ₹5,000) + 25% of the yearly recurring cost of ₹2,86,000 capitalised as working capital ₹71,500 = ₹1,11,500, taken as ₹1,12,000 in the model. The clinic and store are rented.
Working capital: Yearly recurring cost is ₹2,86,000 (rent ₹12,000; petrol, lubricants and maintenance ₹33,000; miscellaneous ₹41,000; fungicides and insecticides ₹2,00,000). 25% of it, ₹71,500, is capitalised and rotated every three months. Margin 10% (₹0.11 lakh), bank loan ₹1.01 lakh at an assumed 14%, repaid in 7 years including 1 year's grace.
Year not printed on the model project — costs are old; check current prices.
§8Export potential
A local orchard service; there is no goods export in this business.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Growers buying their own sprayers
- A poor fruit year that cuts picking and packing work
- Unpaid dues from growers until the fruit is sold
- Pesticide exposure for the spray team
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working horticulture clinic and orchard services centre unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, Licence to sell and stock insecticides from the State Agriculture Department), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Horticulture Clinic and Orchard Services Centre?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.