Higher yields with Gecko technology and expert advice
The cultivation of early potatoes is a challenge every year, marked by tight deadlines, weather risks, and the demand for the highest quality. The 2025 season began exceptionally early: two weeks ahead of the historical average, with perfect planting conditions all over Europe. The stable warm weather allowed many farms to start planting at the same time.
By then, 21 Gecko planters were in use all over Europe: in Finland, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary and Austria. Leaders in early potato cultivation are particularly attentive when new technology is introduced. They usually test it under real conditions and with the highest expectations. If a machine does not offer any clear benefits, it leaves the farm as quickly as it has arrived.
Gecko delivers benefits:
- planting without breaking sprouts
- early harvesting
- homogeneous sorting
- higher yields
An additional yield of up to 30% is not unusual, but rather common.
An expert advice is the key.
All our customers receive support from Farmsupport's experts in early potato cultivation – prior to, during, and after planting. After all, technology alone is not enough. It is important to recognise errors at an early stage, avoid risks and optimise every step of the process. Our customers particularly appreciate such comprehensive support, because it is not just about purchasing a machine, but about a full-service solution.
Farmsupport sums it up:
"We don't want to do everything right – we just want to avoid making the wrong decision. That raises the bar a bit higher."
Customer review of Fischer Martin & Henning, a company cultivating onions, seed potatoes, and table potatoes
Fischer Martin & Henning from Röhrse specialise in growing onions, seed potatoes and table potatoes. Cultivation of early potatoes is a key activity, with significant energy invested in pre-germination to produce the most stable sprouts. Here, we rely on the pre-germination system from Farmsupport, which enables us to produce significantly more homogeneous and stable lightsprouts.
It is crucial for us not to lose this advantage due to sprout damage during planting. Unfortunately, we've noticed that when using the cup planters, a large number of sprouts break off, which negatively affects the quality of seed potatoes. Particularly challenging for us is the risk of contamination during transport through the cup channel, as it is unacceptable to us in terms of hygiene.
We installed a rotary harrow in front of the Gecko planter and an end ridge former behind it to further increase planting speed and make planting even more efficient. This modification has really helped us to make planting work faster and more efficient.
Farmsupport constantly supports us by providing expert advice, particularly in the area of early potatoes, to further optimise the process.
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 ha.
Wind and rain pose no problem thanks to the weatherproof covers!
The family farm specializes in potato cultivation and direct marketing
Our family business specialises in potato cultivation and offers direct marketing all year round. The early potato sector is particularly important to us, as we supply it to both direct customers and bulk buyers. The aim of our business is to offer our customers the highest quality goods on a consistent basis.
The possibility of planting potatoes without breaking the sprouts is what particularly excites us. The weatherproof roof ensures a comfortable working environment.
We were greatly impressed by the 17% increase in yield, which demonstrates the positive effects of improved cultivation. The machine also performed excellently on slopes, making the work much easier.
As a direct marketer, it is particularly important to us to supply our customers early and regionally – an advantage that we can clearly exploit by using this technology.
Potato cultivation in southern Hungary
Our farm in southern Hungary specialises in potato chips and cultivates on sandy soil. By using the Gecko system with sprout-protecting belts, we can prevent sprout breakage during planting. That means we can deliver to our customers two weeks earlier. In addition, the system provides a much more uniform sorting, which results in higher yields and thus higher prices.
The advantages of Gecko optimise both our efficiency and quality, making our company fit for the future.
The earliest chip potatoes for Scandinavia – report by Sebastian Ernst
Sebastian Ernst produces the first chip-grade potatoes for the Scandinavian market. To have crops as early and as even as possible across 18 hectares, we consistently rely on easily warmed soils and the Farmsupport pre-germination system. The aim is to achieve early and uniform sorting that precisely meets the requirements of the potato chip factory.
Ever since we started working with Farmsupport, we've been able to hit our targets every time. We have completely eliminated the sprout breakage that occurs with conventional planting methods. This is our clear competitive advantage compared to other producers.
Thanks to this standardisation and professional approach, we have become an attractive partner for the Scandinavian factory, which values our approach as an important guarantee for the first deliveries.
Plant early and without breaking sprouts – that's something we can fully endorse. We aim to expand this area further in the future.
Gecko at Bauer Hauser in Atzendorf
A glimpse of the Gecko with rotary harrow at Bauer Hauser in Atzendorf, Saxony-Anhalt
Gecko at Michael Krammer's in St. Andrä am Zicksee
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 potato sorts, 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 from 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 and Manuel Paukowitsch in Schönfeld
Our organic farm cultivates 150 hectares of land using ecological guidelines. We focus on growing organic carrots, potatoes and onions, as well as threshing contracting services.
We know from experience how important uniform crop is for yield and quality. To prevent sprout breakage and ensure uniform plant growth, we used Gecko for the first time this season. The results were very positive: even the first batch showed uniform and healthy growth.
At first, we were concerned about whether we would be able to make enough progress with the manual method. However, with a daily planting capacity of 7 hectares, the system has positively surprised and impressed us.
Conclusion:
The Gecko has proven its worth. The combination of technology, Farmsupport's assistance and careful crop management ensures stable yields and efficient operations and forms a promising approach for the coming years."
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 initial sprouting, 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.
Gecko at Juhoo Simulan in Finland
Juhoo from Finland runs a cutting-edge agricultural business, cultivating around 320 hectares of potatoes, 250 hectares of barley and oats, and, in collaboration with partner company JJ Vihannes, around 90 hectares of onions. The farm also has a high-performance egg-laying hen facility with around 80,000 birds, as well as the brooding facility.
Early potatoes are cultivated on around 70 hectares, using the innovative ROPA Gecko technology. This technology prevents sprout breakage, enabling earlier harvesting, highest quality and maximum yields, which is a clear competitive advantage in marketing.
Gecko at Jaakko Tammelin's in Finland
At Jaakko Tammelin's farm, the crops are planted neatly and evenly. The satisfied customer confirms the precise operation of the machine, which helps the tubers to form roots quickly and evenly.
This results in healthy crops, uniform field coverage and optimal conditions for a successful season.
Agromacaj a.s. – Innovation and quality from Slovakia
Agromacaj a.s. is a leading Slovakian family business and one of the most important producers of potatoes and onions in Europe. With a cultivated area of over 12,000 hectares, including around 2,000 hectares of potatoes and 200 hectares of early potatoes, the company consistently relies on state-of-the-art technology.
Two ROPA Gecko planters play a key role in the planting process, enabling particularly gentle planting without breaking the sprouts and thus ensuring uniform crop growth and high yields. As an undisputed leader in its field, Agromacaj stands for efficiency, innovation and uncompromising quality, values that distinguish the company at a European level.
Professional planting of early potatoes with the ROPA Gecko at the Großhans Gemüsebau enterprise
Last season, we also 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 early yields
At Großhans, early potatoes are cultivated on an area of approx. 80 hectares. The seed potatoes undergo a special process of initial sprouting (pre-sprouting) before being planted, which is crucial for future yields. Markus Unger from Farmsupport explains: "The potatoes are stored in special boxes for initial sprouting in no more than two layers. Optimum ventilation, minimal shade and temperatures between 4 and 10 °C are essential. We use 360° LED lamps (potato light) to ensure that light is distributed evenly. "
Pre-sprouting boxes lighting technology from Farmsuppport
Seed potatoes during the pre-sprouting
Pre-sprouted potato on the day of planting
Planting pre-sprouted potatoes 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.