Viticulture in Afghanistan: Vineyards Inside the Time Tunnel

Although Islam forbids wine consumption, there are thousands of hectares under European vines destined for the production of grapes and raisins. Despite some similarities with the situation in our own fields, there are some striking peculiarities, such as the lack of grafting techniques or training the vines against adobe walls.

By Arturo Lavín A.

Agricultural engineer at Centro Experimental Cauquenes, INIA.

Apparently, the European grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is native to the region that divides Europe from Asia, between the Caspian and Black Seas and Mesopotamia, where it is still today profusely grown using methods inherited from very ancient traditions. Grapevine cultivation, particularly wine production, is very closely linked to the religious beliefs that prevailed during antique times and that still today survive in the different countries of that zone.

Afghan viticulture is entirely oriented towards the production of grapes for consumption as fresh fruit and raisins, because Islam -with the exception of certain times of the year- has banned wine production. That is precisely the case of Afghanistan, a country ravaged by wars, where the practice of viticulture has an entirely different approach but still bears some resemblance with the situation in Chile.

Although at the present time it is difficult to provide accurate figures, it is a known fact that in 1970 there were 70,500 hectares under vine; in 1973, the production of fresh grapes totaled 38,215 tons and that of raisins amounted to 3,086 tons. In early 2003, the total area under vine was estimated in some 94,217 hectares, although some of them included other fruit trees or had been abandoned as a result of the war. In conclusion, the production area was estimated in 38,218 hectares.

Grapevine cultivation extends throughout the entire Afghan territory, a country with a mountainous core and countless intermediate valleys of variable size, climate, type of soil and resources. And although a common pattern can be appreciated, there are clearly distinct cultivating systems depending on the environmental conditions.

There are two major plain land extensions, one towards the northeast and one towards the southeast. In the first one we find the important city of Mazar-i-Sharif, on the western limit of which is a huge and very arid plateau bearing virtually no activities other than nomadic livestock raising. Nevertheless, as we progress towards the east, specifically towards Kunduz, the large rivers flowing from the mountainous core, some of them from the former Soviet Union, permit the irrigation of large areas where a wide variety of vegetable species are grown, among which we can mention numerous fruit trees, especially grapevines.

One such example is the Pir i nakhshi valley in the Samangan province. Although the size of individual property is very small, seeing more than 1,000 hectares of vineyards of the same varieties and using the same training systems, shaping and pruning is really stunning. The entire valley depends both economically and socially upon grapevine cultivation, and it produces grapes of the Taifi (white, medium-sized berries, thick skin and with seeds) and Hussaini (white, large berries, thin skin and with seeds) varieties for consumption as fresh fruit.

The training systems are of course adapted to the only materials available: a tunnel with willow arches and crossbeams made of cane and tied together with vegetable stems. The plants are located on low platforms or high borders, from which the tunnel arches are cast on each side. Under the tunnel and between the borders, a deep groove is excavated as a means to cover the plants with earth, thereby protecting them against frosts. In spring, however, the earth previously dug is re-placed in order to re-utilize the groove for irrigation purposes.

During the green phase, the leaves and bunches are positioned towards both sides of the tunnels. The soil is particularly deep and water is brought over from a distance of 50 to 75 meters, generally resorting to manual or animal-driven systems -very rarely with oil-fueled pumps-, so irrigation is fairly rudimentary. Rainfall occurs between winter and spring, and it does not exceed 200 to 300 millimeters a year.

ADOBE VINE-TRAINING WALLS

Kandahar is situated in the second grand plain. This area is surrounded by flat and saline lands, and is affected by a drought that has become more severe over the last five years. Hilmand lies towards the west. A third viticultural area called Sangisar is located between these two cities. There, it is possible to appreciate a different type of viticulture: the lack of extreme temperatures during winter eliminates the need to cover the plants with earth and, therefore, plant formations can grow higher.

Nevertheless, and given the lack of materials for the construction of training systems, Afghans have developed an original type of vine-training system: true adobe walls to act as support for the plants. The truth is that the boundaries between most agricultural properties are not like our ordinary fences; they are composed of kilometers of these adobe walls.

The trunk of the plants has been bifurcated into a “V” shape close to the ground, and both arms are trained against the wall in the manner of a vertical cordon. The main variety is Kishmishi (Sultana or Thompson seedless), which is pruned to short spurs of two to three buds, with a groove dug near the base for irrigation. Just like Pir i nakhshi, this is a fairly arid zone, where winter and spring rains do not exceed 300 mm.

Another interest-deserving region is a steep valley in the Parwan province called Shakinar, located west of Kabul, which nowadays covers an area of 4,670 hectares with approximately 1,500 plants/ha. Many of them, however, were virtually abandoned because of the war, when most farmers fled the area in search of a safer place.

Half of the production is destined for fresh consumption and the other half for the production of raisins, which -at least before the war- were exported to Europe, particularly England. The main variety is Kishmishi, but lately the local Shindukhani (white, very large berries and no seeds) has become increasingly popular.

Just about 5% to 10% of the area under vine is located on higher grounds and does not require mulching with earth in winter.The plants are head-grown, but they are practically forced to grow at ground level in order to be able to mulch them. There are two sanitary restrictions: oidium and anthracnosis.

RAISINS FOR EXPORT

One of the most curious aspects is the great raisin consumption, a type of food present in one way or another in the Afghan people’s daily diet. Nevertheless, raisin processing and trade are carried out using very primitive methods and very precarious sanitary measures. Heaps of raisins on the floor is not an uncommon sight. What really amazes is the great variety of raisins, ranging from very small ones to others that are truly big, many of them seedless but with sizeable berries.

Also, it is not infrequent to find collections of local varieties, 30 to 60 per province, at experimental stations. Unfortunately, registers and descriptions were destroyed during the war, so the only possible information comes from technicians and farmers. Even so, certain aspects do not go unnoticed: for example, there is no grafting; all vines grow on their original roots, and although Afghanistan is not a geographically isolated country like Chile, phylloxera is also non-existent.

For example, the Sultana variety is native to Iran or Persia (from the city of Soltanijeh, between Teheran and Tabriz) and it is very widespread across the entire area. Pruning practices in our country leave the canes fairly long, based on the belief that basal buds are unfertile. In Afghanistan, however, pruning practices cut the spur back to two or three buds at the most, because it is believed that it will not bear fruit is pruned too long.

It is also a curious fact that plants are not pruned until the end of the frost period. Afghans claim that pruning makes the plant much more susceptible to low temperatures. This practice entails important consequences upon vineyard management and man-hour labor, for all canes need to be covered with earth.

These are all different approaches and criteria. The importance of tradition and the lack of resources play a paramount role in a viticulture that seems trapped in the tunnel of time, although for thousands of years it has been able to satisfy a population marked by wars.