Showing 1 – 10 of 372 resources
Over the past five years we have examined several different approaches to reducing the restriction in sap flow from shallow tree rings in an attempt to increase sap yield and sugar content of collected sap. After exploratory research in 2018 and 2019, we settled upon a basic design starting in 2020 that in continued testing has proved successful. The two main features of this new spout include a shorter barrel and barbs.
In 2020, the New York State Maple Producers’ Association, in cooperation with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, applied for and was awarded a USDA Acer Access and Development Program grant to conduct market research on the US consumer maple target audience. The project was designed to expand research, education, and extension efforts involving market sizing, audience research, and message testing, development, and planning to: 1) identify market opportunities, 2) optimize messaging, and 3) develop a market promotion and evaluation plan. The purpose of this work is to develop marketing tools and methods to increase the awareness of, and a rationale for, choosing pure maple syrup among audiences representing the greatest market opportunity. The program will achieve this goal through the development of research-driven messaging, market promotion strategies, and communications planning.
Invasive pests have been identified as one of the major threats to biodiversity worldwide. Many bodies, including the United Nations, recognize invasive species for the long-term detrimental impacts that they could have on our ecosystems. The most cost- and effort-saving way of dealing with invasive species is to prevent their initial spread into an area. This guide provides a brief summary of invasive insect pests threatening maple-producing regions of eastern Canada and the United States.
This research is focused on a first of its kind survey of professional foresters with the goal of not only understanding the technical approaches foresters use when working in sugarbushes, but also how the surveyed foresters view sugarbush management compared to managing stands for other forest products.
Ten years ago, 3/16” diameter tubing was introduced to the marketplace as an alternative tubing to 5/16” diameter tubing. However, recent research shows that sap production in 3/16” tubing drops off as soon as the second year after installation due to microbial growth. A replacement for 3/16” diameter tubing in gravity systems could be 1/4” tubing. With almost twice the aperture of 3/16” tubing (0.049 sq inches compared to 0.0275 sq inches), 1/4″ inch tubing is less likely to plug from microbes yet is still able to create a full column of sap for gravity vacuum. Quarter-inch tubing is currently not available for maple producers but can be procured from other industries and, with modifications, will work for maple production.
There are multiple approaches to treat or otherwise kill invasive plants that that the maple producer wants to control. The best treatment in one situation may not be best in another situation. Methods of treatment are typically either mechanical or chemical. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages depending on the circumstances.
Exudation is the process whereby trees can generate a large positive pressure in stems or roots during months when the tree is leafless and mostly dormant and temperatures fluctuate above and below freezing. This article aims to provide an update on recent modelling efforts
in combination with experimental measurements from red/sugar maple trees at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center that validate the model results.
Hydrometers are a critical tool for making high-quality, legal density maple syrup. A $20 to $30 investment in an accurate hydrometer can yield a valuable return in income for the producer. This article explains how to use and test a hydrometer for accuracy.
According to a recent survey of more than 300 maple producers in the northeast United States, nonconductive wood was hit during tapping on average 4.5% of the time and the responses ranged from 0-41% of the time (UVM Extension 2019 unpublished). Previous research has explored factors that impact the likelihood of tapping into NCW. Significant factors include but are not limited to; dropline length, taphole diameter, tapping intensity (number of taps/tree) and stem growth (van den Berg and Perkins 2014). Other work touched on the relationship between the amount of conductive wood exposed while tapping and yields (Wilmot et al. 2007). But to date, there has been no direct investigation as to the relationship between the percent of NCW is intercepted while tapping and sap yield. The present study sought to understand the relationship between the amount of NCW in a given tap how and the amount of sap collected, as well as understanding if other factors (sap sweetness) might impact total yields between treatments.
The history of introduction of invasive plants into the US is varied, but there are many examples of species that have become interfering after introduction in the middle 1800’s. In most cases the introduction was intentional because of the expectation of a benefit for humans or wildlife. Following are several invasive shrub species common in many areas of the maple syrup producing region of North America.