Which side of the tree should you tap?
Thoughts and data on how setting taps on different aspects of a tree can impact sap yield.
Resource type: Research
Showing 281 – 290 of 380 resources
Sugar maple growth in relation to nutrition and stress in the northeastern United States
Sugar maple, Acer saccharum, decline disease is incited by multiple disturbance factors when imbalanced calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn) act as predisposing stressors. Our objective in this study was to determine whether factors affecting sugar maple health also affect growth as estimated by basal area increment (BAI). We used 76 northern hardwood stands in northern Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, USA, and found that sugar maple growth was positively related to foliar concentrations of Ca and Mg and stand level estimates of sugar maple crown health during a high stress period from 1987 to 1996. Foliar nutrient threshold values for Ca, Mg, and Mn were used to analyze long-term BAI trends from 1937 to 1996. Significant (P <= 0.05) nutrient threshold-by-time interactions indicate changing growth in relation to nutrition during this period.
Sugaring in the Fall
Sap can be collected and syrup produced in the fall, but sugar content is low and the practice raises additional challenges for the spring crop.
Alternative fuels for evaporators
Wood chips, wood pellets, and used vegetable oil can all be used to fire properly adapted evaporators. Each has advantages and challenges.
Industry Review Air Injection Technology and Its Use in the Production of Maple Syrup
In recent years, some maple equipment manufacturers have sold air injection (AI) technology equipment for the production of maple syrup. For purposes of the recent industry review conducted by the International Maple Syrup Institute, air injection technology is defined as the forced introduction of air through a series of perforated pipes submerged in boiling sap in the front and/or back pan of a maple syrup evaporator.
Technical Position Paper on Air Injection
The use of air injection technology in the maple industry can be defined as: the forced introduction of air through a series of perforated pipes submerged in the boiling sap in the front and /or back pan of a maple syrup evaporator. Several studies conducted in recent years have investigated aspects of the use of air injection technology in the process of maple syrup production.
Results from the 2009 New England tapping survey
Results of an annual survey conducted of New England sugarmakers, capturing information on production practices and results, such as types of equipment used, sap sugar content, sanitation practices, and other data.
Invaders in the sugarbush
Invasive exotic plants are becoming more prevalent and can have a negative impact on sugarbushes. Maple producers need to know how to identify and eradicate invasives.
Tapping red maple
Sugarmakers should consider tapping red maples to supplement sap production from sugar maples.
Cold-season patterns of reserve and soluble carbohydrates in sugar maple and ice-damaged trees of two age classes following drought
This study examines the effects of summer drought on the composition and profiles of cold-season reserve and soluble carbohydrates in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) trees (50-100 years old or-200 years old) in which the crowns were nondamaged or damaged by the 1998 ice storm. The overall cold season reserve carbohydrate profiles in twig wood tissue of drought-stressed (DS) trees and non-drought-stressed (NDS) trees were generally similar, although differences were observed in the amount of reserve carbohydrates in DS and NDS trees. The cold-season level of starch stored in DS trees in early autumn in the wood tissue was about one-third to one-fifth that in NDS trees. The cold season sugar content in the DS trees was significantly greater than can be attributed to degradation of stored starch, only.