FMTTI Testing for Sprayers — Full Guide

When manufacturers bring us a sprayer for FMTTI testing, the first question we ask is almost never about the machine itself — it's "which category does it fall into?" Plant protection equipment isn't tested as one block at FMTTI. It splits into two distinct streams, each with its own fee, its own paperwork, and — most importantly for planning — its own report validity.

What FMTTI engineers actually check

Regardless of which stream a sprayer sits in, the institute's own engineers run the physical evaluation at the regional FMTTI. For plant protection equipment, that generally covers:

• Spray uniformity and droplet coverage — how evenly the output is distributed across the working width
• Pump and nozzle performance and endurance — how the delivery system holds up under sustained operation
• Tank capacity versus field coverage rate — whether the stated capacity actually matches the ground the machine can cover per fill We coordinate the whole process with the institute on a manufacturer's or dealer's behalf — scheduling, documentation, and liaison — but the testing itself is always done by FMTTI's engineers at the institute, never by us.

Two categories, two validity periods

This is the detail that catches people out most often: a sprayer's Initial Commercial Test (ICT) validity depends entirely on how it's powered.

A hand-operated or battery-operated knapsack sprayer gets a 5-year ICT. A tractor-mounted boom sprayer or an engine-operated HTP sprayer gets 7 years on the ICT. Both streams then carry the same 5-year validity once a report moves to Batch Test status. If you're planning a renewal cycle, this difference is worth building into your schedule from day one rather than discovering it later.

What it costs

The government's fee schedule also treats the two streams separately, and the gap is substantial:

GST is charged on top at 18%, and payment runs through the government's NTRP portal rather than any offline route. If your sprayer sits in the manual/battery stream, don't assume the power-operated fee applies, or vice versa — the two are genuinely separate line items, not variants of one charge.

Which specification format applies

SRFMTTI's document checklist now includes dedicated specification formats for several sprayer sub-types, added during 2026:

• Knapsack sprayer — battery/hand operated, and battery-operated portable sprayers
• HTP engine-operated sprayer / engine-operated knapsack sprayer
• Boom sprayer — self-propelled / tractor operated
• Tractor-operated sprayer Using the right format matters at the application stage. The Ministry's documentation order is explicit that an application missing the correct technical specification sheet can be rejected outright, so we always confirm with the target institute which of these formats fits the exact machine before anything is submitted.

The application itself

Like every other machine category, a sprayer application runs through the Centralized Farm Machinery Performance Testing Portal: the manufacturer submits the form and documents online, Admin and Sub-Admin scrutinise it, any discrepancies are flagged back for correction, and once approved and the fee receipt is uploaded, a test officer and period are allocated by random sampling. The equipment then goes to the institute, a Test Engineer runs the evaluation and issues a Draft Test Report, the manufacturer comments, and a Final Test Report is released. SMS and email alerts go out at every stage, so there's rarely any ambiguity about where an application stands.

We guide manufacturers and dealers through each of those steps — confirming the right category, the right specification format, the right institute, and the right fee line — while FMTTI's own engineers handle every part of the physical test.