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# Kentucky ADT teaches benefits of grape trellis at Dashtak demo farm

By Sgt. 1st Class Peter Ferrell, Combined Joint Task Force 101

PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, - Soldiers with the Kentucky National Guard Agribusiness Development Team visited the Dashtak Demonstration Farm to observe the building of grape trellises, Oct. 9.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jeffery Casada, Panjshir team leader for the Kentucky ADT, and Jim Hoffman, a U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor to the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, met with H. Sultan Hamid, chief trainer for the Roots of Peace organization, based in San Diego, Calif.

Hamid instructed Agha Share, the foreman for the Dashtak Demonstration Farm, and his workers on the proper installation of a trellis system. The system consists of concrete posts with holes spaced apart for wires to pass through. 

When the posts are secure, three wires at different heights will run through the posts to train the grapes as they grow.

Casada said grape trellising is used to get the grapes off the ground, making for a more productive grape harvest. Growing grapes on the ground, which is the traditional way they are grown in Afghanistan, allows excess moisture to collect on and under the plant’s leaves. This can cause the grapes to mold and become diseased. 

Traditional growing also includes flood-trench irrigation, an unsanitary practice, said Hoffman. With trellising, this issue is eliminated as each section is flat and watered by rows.

Additional work is necessary to complete the project. A large concrete block, known as a “dead man,” must be installed at the end of each row. The trellis wires are attached to the block and then tightened. The plants must then be properly spaced for maximum production.

“When the trellis project is complete, other farmers can visit the farm to learn the importance, benefit and technique of trellising grapes,” said Casada. “For a demo farm to be at the forefront, it should demonstrate new and different methods. Grape trellising is a great example of these methods.”

The Dashtak Demonstration Farm has completed other demonstration projects assisted by the Kentucky ADT. The grape trellis is the latest of these.

“We want the demonstration farm to be on the cutting-edge [of agriculture] because farmers visit and learn new ways to grow old crops by trying new agricultural ideas,” said Casada.

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