Showing 101 – 110 of 189 resources
Sap flow is only part of what determines the total amount of syrup made (and how much money ends up in a syrup producer’s pocket). New research suggests sugar makers may be advised to look to their trees’ canopies as well as the weather forecast if they want to predict the tapping season.
A table to help determine sap prices, and commentary on the factors that should be considered when purchasing sap.
Summaries of research presentations at the 2014 annual NAMSC meeting.
Sap exudation refers to the process whereby sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) are capable of generating significant stem pressure in a leafless state, something that occurs to a lesser extent in only a few other related species such as birch and walnut. This exudation pressure is what causes maple sap to flow from a taphole in sufficient quantities to be harvested and processed into syrup. Exudation has been studied for well over 100 years and has been the subject of many scientific studies, but there is as yet no definitive explanation for how such large pressures can be generated in the absence of transpiration (i.e., when no photosynthesis occurs to drive the flow of sap).
Both the Asian longhorned beetle and the use of imidacloprid to protect sugar maples from this pest pose a threat to maple syrup producers.
Two main issues relate to the sustainability of maple sugaring; tree wounding and sugar removal. In other words, does a tapped maple tree grow more wood than is compartmentalized (functionally “removed by the tree’s normal wound response process) each year and/or does sap collection take more sugar from the tree than can be readily replaced through photosynthesis? These two issues, although separate in some respects, are inextricably intertwined.
3/16″ tubing can provide some yield benefit by creating natural vacuum. That benefit will be directly related to the elevation drop of the lateral line.
Have you ever wondered why open grown trees produce more and sweeter sap than the ones growing close to each other? To answer these questions, I would like to share with you from my 37 years of experience in forest management.
Occasionally, maple syrup becomes contaminated with floating masses or surface mold. Conventional practices have been to discard obvious mold growths, re-boil and then consume the syrup. This practice may be risky, especially with the increasing number of food borne illness outbreaks with other food products and the resulting negative publicity surrounding these outbreaks.
A model that calculates the proportions of conductive and nonconductive wood in the tapping zone of a tree over time given user-input values for tree diameter and tapping practices.