Content of the article:
farming Raspberry is one of the most popular crops in our country. Unpretentiousness to the soil, simple care and high demand attract businessmen to its cultivation. Growing raspberries as a business is beneficial not only in terms of selling berries, but also in terms of additional income from the sale of raspberry seedlings.
How to start a raspberry business - choosing a site and grade
Raspberry is a plant that loves moisture and sun, and this must be taken into account when choosing a site for cultivation. The type of soil does not matter much, because raspberries grow even in the forest. But experts consider the best option to be soil with sand, supplemented with mulch with a pH level of not more than 5.8-6.2.The size of the plot depends on the planned size of the business on raspberries.
The second step is the choice of a variety of two types: two-year-old and remontant. The first begins to bear fruit only in the second year, the second - already at the first, and the crop ripens 2 times - in summer and early autumn.
When calculating the start-up capital, it should be noted that saplings of remontant raspberries are more expensive than two years.
Plus two-year-old raspberries - sweet and fragrant berries, but it often freezes in the winter.
Repair grades are more resistant to low temperatures and pests. The disadvantages of the remontant look are lower tastes and the fact that under unfavorable weather conditions the autumn harvest does not have time to ripen.
The most promising summer varieties for the business of raspberries are:
- Laska;
- Octavia;Zyugan
- .
Lashka - an early variety from Poland. The berries are tasty, solid, cylindrical, up to 4 cm long and weighing 5-10 g, tolerate transportation. Plants are cold-resistant( up to 30 ° C) and high-yielding( up to 20 tons per hectare).
Disadvantages: buds are damaged at very low temperatures and during the growing season protection against diseases is required.
Octavia is considered the most promising variety with large red round-conical fruits( weight 6-8 g).The berries are dense, therefore they are kept on the bushes even after prolonged rains. Productivity is high( up to 24 tons per hectare).Plants are resistant to diseases, but difficult to multiply. Zyugan
is a variety imported from Switzerland. The berries have an excellent taste( sweet and sour), tolerate transportation well and are stored for up to 7 days at a temperature of -5 - + 3 ° C.The weight of a berry is 4-12 g, shoots almost do not need trellis, they tolerate a lack of moisture well, with good care they bear fruit in the first year. The only drawback is sharp spikes.
3 remontant varieties are also suitable for business:
- Shelf - ripens in autumn, berries weighing 4-8 g with good aroma and taste, yield reaches 10 tons per hectare, reproduces well with the help of roots, do not require trellis;
- Joan Jie - large( up to 6 g), hard, dark red berries, yield of 16-19 tons per hectare;
- Himbo Top - berry reaches a weight of 10 g, dark in color, tasty, firm, the plant requires garters, resistant to diseases, seedlings take root well.
Business plan for growing raspberries
The business plan should consist of the following sections:
- main objectives of the enterprise;
- organization of the production process;
- conditions at the time of starting a business( area and other characteristics of the site, the need for employees);
- analysis of demand and competitors;
- financial performance;
- analysis of proposed sales markets;
- sales promotion plan;
- advertising.
Particular attention should be paid to the section “Financial indicators” and the section “Organization of the production process”.
"Financial indicators":
- initial investment;
- current expenses;
- pricing;
- estimated income from the sale of raspberries;
- profitability raspberry business;
- payback period for initial investments.
The volume of initial investments depends on the planned scale and the selected raspberry variety - the larger the plot and the more expensive the seedlings, the greater the investment.
Current expenses depend on the level of wages for employees, the need for the selected grade in top dressing and protection from diseases. Prices should stimulate demand, therefore, are set only after a careful analysis of existing demand and prices of competitors.
The income from a business on raspberries depends not only on demand and the average price, but also on the quality of marketing activities, weather conditions in a particular season, and sales markets. After all, raspberries can be sold not only to individuals, but also to manufacturing enterprises( for processing) and stores that carry out wholesale purchases.
The answer to the question: how much money can be earned on raspberries, also depends on whether only berries are sold. After all, in order to increase income, you can additionally grow seedlings for sale.
From these statistics, we can conclude that for summer varieties the cultivation of raspberries as a business profitability reaches 35-36%, and the initial investment pays off in 4 years. As for remontant varieties, when they are grown, the profitability is up to 65%, the initial investment pays off in 3.3 years. Profitability rates increase if you sell shoots and cuttings.
Business on raspberries - organization of the production process
Before planting purchased seedlings, their roots should be carefully examined. They should not have pea-like nodules that indicate a serious enough disease - a bacterial root cancer."Pea" at the ends of the roots can be cut off, cut the incisions with a solution of copper sulfate.
Plant raspberries in early spring or before the first autumn frosts. The distance between rows is 1.5 m, between seedlings - 50 cm, planting depth - 10 cm. After planting, the soil must be watered and covered with a layer of mulch, and the shoots cut to the ground level. If trellis is required for the selected variety, then every 5 m the poles are driven into the soil 1.5–1.8 m long and the wire is pulled, to which the plants will be tied next year.
Next year, the raspberry jam looks something like this:
The main task during this period is thinning and getting rid of weeds.
If the production is large enough, then it is not desirable to be limited to one raspberry variety. It is best to purchase a few and plant on separate sites in order to determine which one best suits specific conditions.
If you plan to sell seedlings, they can be grown from roots or cuttings. In the first method, trenches with a depth of up to 50 cm are dug out, roots are laid out in them, watered and folded.
In the second method, cuttings up to 12 cm long are needed. They are cut in autumn, covered with a layer of peat 5-7 cm thick and placed in a cellar or an unheated greenhouse. In the spring, cuttings can be planted in beds or in small containers.
When large scale for the period of harvest, hired workers will be required: after all, raspberries are removed only by hand.
Russians love raspberries, but not everyone has the opportunity to grow them, especially in big cities. In supermarkets, of course, you can buy frozen or processed berry, but not everyone likes it. Therefore, the cultivation of raspberries as a business is quite promising, especially if combined in the cultivation of other crops.
