Introduction
Introduction
Henning Fischer and Martin Peine-Röhrse
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Gecko at the Kessler-Weiss Freiland Gemüsebau GbR vegetable farm in Schifferstadt
At the Kessler-Weiss Freiland Gemüsebau GbR vegetable farm in Schifferstadt (Rhineland-Palatinate), the ROPA Gecko ensures efficient planting of early potatoes, working precisely, quickly and gently on the sprouts!
Gecko at Michael Unger in Wallern
On Michael Unger's farm in Wallern in Burgenland, the ROPA Gecko is used to plant crops with a daily performance of 5.2 hectares.
Wind and rain pose no problem thanks to the weatherproof covers!
Gecko at Schumacher's in Bedburg
Our family-run business specialises in potato cultivation and operates year-round direct marketing. The early potato sector is of particular importance to us, as we supply both direct customers and wholesale buyers. Our aim is to consistently offer our customers uniform, high-quality produce.
What particularly excites us is the ability to plant potatoes without shoot damage. The weather protection roof ensures a comfortable working environment in the process.
The yield increase of +17% has been very compelling and demonstrates the positive effects of the improved cultivation method. The machine has also performed excellently on slopes, making the work considerably easier.
As a direct marketer, it is especially important to us to supply our customers early and regionally – an advantage we can clearly leverage through the use of this technology.
Gecko at Imre Toth in Hungary
Our operation in southern Hungary specialises in crisps potatoes and farms sandy soils. By using the Gecko system with sprout-protection belts, we are able to avoid shoot damage during planting, which enables us to supply our customers two weeks earlier. In addition, the system delivers significantly more uniform grading, resulting in higher yields and therefore higher prices.
The advantages of the Gecko optimise both our efficiency and our quality, making our business fit for the future.
Gecko at Sebastian Ernst's
Sebastian Ernst produces the first crisps potatoes for the Scandinavian market. In order to deliver the 18 hectares as early and as uniformly as possible, we consistently rely on soils that warm up quickly, together with the pre-sprouting system from Farmsupport. The goal is early, uniform grading that precisely meets the requirements of the crisps factory.
Since optimising our process with Farmsupport, we have been achieving this goal reliably. The avoidable shoot damage that occurs with conventional planting methods has been eliminated entirely – this is our clear competitive advantage over other producers.
Through this standardisation and professionalism, we have become an attractive partner for the Scandinavian factory, which values our approach as an important safeguard for the first deliveries.
Planting early and without shoot damage – we can fully endorse this. Our goal is to expand this area further in the future.
Gecko at Bauer Hauser in Straßfurt
A glimpse of the Gecko with rotary harrow at Bauer Hauser in Straßfurt, Saxony-Anhalt
Gecko at Michael Krammer's
Michael Krammer believes in modern technology and smart solutions when it comes to potato cultivation. His farm grows 50 hectares of potatoes, including some early potatoes, and his ROPA Gecko is essential for efficient planting!
The planting is carried out on the Krammer family farm in cooperation with the Perschy landscape conservation service.
Driver Martin Perschy emphasises that employees particularly appreciate how comfortable the planting process has become: "Our employees find planting with the Gecko very enjoyable, as they are protected from the wind. There's a good reason why we have so many wind turbines here."
Thanks to consulting services and system by FarmSupport, Michael Krammer knows that his potatoes have the best possible conditions right from the start. But potatoes aren't the only thing on the crop plan – watermelons, winter onions and soybeans are also part of his farm's diversified crop rotation.
With the ROPA Gecko, farming businesses can focus on efficiency, comfort and top quality!
Gecko at Markus Paukowitsch and Manuel Schönfelder
"Our organic farm manages 150 hectares in accordance with ecological guidelines. The main focus areas are the cultivation of organic carrots, organic potatoes and organic onions, as well as contract harvesting.
Experience has taught us how important uniform stands are for yield and quality. To avoid shoot damage and ensure even field emergence, we used the Gecko for the first time this season – with great success: uniform and healthy stands were already apparent with the first batch.
Initially, we had concerns about whether we would be able to work quickly enough with hand placement. However, with a daily planting output of 7 ha, the system has pleasantly surprised and convinced us.
Conclusion:
The use of the Gecko has proved its worth. The combination of technology, support from Farmsupport and careful crop management ensures stable stands and efficient working – a promising path for the years ahead."
Customer review by Mattias Wunderl from Witzelsdorf
It's great that the ROPA Gecko really allows you to plant without damaging the sprouts. We dug it up straight away and took a look. All sprouts remained undamaged. It's quite windy here, which makes spending a whole day in the field rather unpleasant. This great workplace is very pleasant for our employees. It's like being at a party, with great music while you work.
Gecko at the Anzböck organic farm in Austria
Biohof Anzböck is one of the most innovative organic farms in Austria.
Onions, early potatoes, late-season potatoes and sweet potatoes belong to the product range. For two years now, the company has also had its own peeling facility to sustainably recycle waste products. The ROPA Gecko and the FarmSupport system used for precultivation, optimise planting without braking sprouts and perfectly supports the organic farm team of around 25 employees.
Gecko in operation by Matthias Eckhoff & Frank Ehlen
The Gecko has already proven itself for the second year in a row at Matthias Eckhoff & Frank Ehlen's farms.
Early, uniform crops are particularly important in order to be able to supply customers with seed and table potatoes in a consistent manner: "We have never had such evenly grown crops before. This makes early potato cultivation a pleasure."
An own water well with an irrigation system protects crops from freezing.
Thanks to the weather protection cover, the machine can be used at any time and can therefore be easily shared between both farms. It is so convenient that even family members are happy to help out.
Gecko at Juhoo Simulan in Finland
Juhoo, based in Finland, operates a highly modern agricultural enterprise farming approximately 320 hectares of potatoes, 250 hectares of barley and oats, and – in collaboration with partner operation JJ Vihannes – around 90 hectares of onions. The farm also runs a high-performance laying hen facility with approximately 80,000 birds, together with the associated pullet rearing unit.
Early potatoes are grown on around 70 ha, where the innovative ROPA Gecko technology is employed. By eliminating shoot damage, this technology enables an earlier harvest, the highest quality and maximum yields – a clear competitive advantage in marketing.
Gecko at Jaakko Tammelin in Finland
At Jaakko Tammelin, crops are planted neatly and uniformly. The satisfied customer confirms the machine's precise working method, which allows the tubers to develop roots quickly and evenly.
The result is vigorous stands, homogeneous field emergence and optimum conditions for a successful season.
Agromacaj a.s. – Innovation and Quality from Slovakia
Agromacaj a.s. is a leading Slovak family business and ranks amongst the most significant producers of potatoes and onions in Europe. Farming an area of over 12,000 hectares – including around 2,000 hectares of potatoes and 200 hectares of early potatoes – the business consistently relies on the very latest specialist technology.
A central element of the planting technology consists of two ROPA Gecko planters, which enable particularly gentle planting without shoot damage, thereby laying the foundation for uniform field emergence and high yields. As an absolute specialist in its segment, Agromacaj stands for efficiency, innovative capability and uncompromising quality – values that distinguish the business throughout Europe.
Professional Early Potato Planting with the ROPA Gecko at Gemüsebau Großhans
The 2025 planting season for early potatoes is coming up! The Gecko is a machine specifically developed by ROPA to minimise sprout breakage when planting pre-sprouted potatoes. This innovative solution sets new standards in the cultivation of early potatoes and ensures optimum conditions for growth.
Last season, we intensively studied how the laying technique affects the growth of early potato crops. Particularly noteworthy is the significant growth advantage of the potatoes planted with the Gecko. The innovative technology ensures that the machine is particularly gentle to sprouts when laying seed potatoes, which results in higher yields.
ROPA Gecko in action
On 20 March 2024, we visited the farm of the Großhans family in Reilingen. They specialise in the production and packaging of vegetables, especially carrots. The product range also includes scallions and onions, radishes, parsnips, early potatoes and cereals. With approx. 1,000 hectares of farmland, around a quarter of which is cultivated according to organic standards, the enterprise is one of the most important growers of vegetables in Germany.
Visit to Großhans Gemüsebau where innovations perfectly support traditions
In the high season, Großhans Gemüsebau employs up to 800 people, including 75 permanent employees. Around 50 Fendt, Valtra and John Deere tractors are used for the field work. The enterprise values quality and sustainability particularly highly. The in-house washing and packaging facility enables fresh and direct packaging after harvesting, which reduces transport distances and emissions. Optimised logistics with the company's own fleet also ensure efficient planning of routes and optimum loading of the transport vehicles.
The company considers both ecological and social sustainability to be a central guiding principle. Regional production reduces transport routes and creates transparency and reliability between growers, buyers and consumers. All of the products grown by the enterprise are traceable and subject to regular quality controls that guarantee fair working conditions and high standards in production and management.
The ROPA Gecko ensures precision and efficiency in planting early potatoes
One of the biggest challenges when planting early potatoes is to prevent the sensitive sprouts from being damaged. The ROPA Gecko offers a customised solution unlike the conventional planting technologies that have their limits. The hand planter developed by ROPA in collaboration with Farmsupport combines a particularly gentle laying system with high performance and ergonomic working conditions for the staff.
Two workers per planting row carefully lay the pre-sprouted potatoes lengthways on special sprout-protective belts. In this way, the tubers are laid precisely in the soil without any rubbing contact. This technology allows planting of potatoes even with a length of up to 12 cm without any problems. The planting distance can be variably adjusted in 16 stages, and the planting performance can reach up to six hectares per eight-hour working day. Thanks to its drawbar steering, tramline control and proven mechanical drive, the Gecko offers high flexibility and efficiency.
Pre-sprouted early potatoes for higher yields
At Großhans, early potatoes are cultivated on an area of approx. 80 hectares. The seed potatoes undergo a special pre-sprouting process before being planted, which is crucial for future yields. Markus Unger from Farmsupport explains: ‘The potatoes are stored in special pre-sprouting boxes in no more than two layers. Optimum ventilation, minimal shade and temperatures between 4 and 10 °C are essential. We use 360° LED lamps to ensure that light is distributed evenly.’
Pre-sprouting boxes from Farmsupport
Seed potatoes during the pre-sprouting process
Pre-sprouted potato on the day of planting
Pre-sprouted early potatoes - planting with the Gecko
The first early potatoes were planted on the 14th of February 2024. The ridges were then milled and covered with fleece and foil. The Colomba tubers were ripe for harvesting at the beginning of June. For comparison, Dennis Großhans and his partner Tanita planted some of the early potatoes using a conventional cup planter.
The result as of 20/03/2024
During our visit in the middle of March, the difference was clearly visible. The potatoes planted with the Gecko had already reached a growth height of approx. 20 cm, while those planted using the conventional system were only half as high. Even at this stage a significant yield advantage from using the Gecko was apparent.
Pioneering potato planting with ROPA
The results speak for themselves. The ROPA Gecko offers a gentle, efficient and yield-boosting solution for early potato cultivation. Thanks to its precise laying technology, the system protects very sensitive sprouts and ensures uniform crop distribution with considerable growth advantage.
The family enterprise Gemüsebau Großhans combines traditional methods with state-of-the-art technology and shows impressively how sustainable and efficient farming works in practice. The ROPA Gecko is a significant step to forward-looking cultivation of early potatoes!
See for yourself in the coming season and follow the entire planting process and the vegetation development of the early potatoes all the way to harvest.
Our ROPA area managers and sales partners are always available for consultation. Should you have any further questions about early potato cultivation, please contact our expert Markus Unger from Farmsupport at +49 157 75067659.