Resource type: Research

Showing 81 – 90 of 361 resources

The Shifting Sweet Spot of Maple Syrup Production: Climate Change Impacts on Sugar Maple Sap

How may climate change impact the maple syrup industry? Our team of interdisciplinary researchers, ACERnet (Acer Climate and Socio-Ecological Research Network), has been working to understand the complex answers to this question for the past several years. In particular, we are interested in examining how climate impacts the timing of the maple tapping season as well as both the quality and quantity of sap collected during the tapping season.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
October 1, 2019

A Decade of Spout and Tubing Sanitation Research Summarized

More then a decade ago there was a renewed realization that microbial contamination of maple sap collection systems was having a significant detrimental impact on sap yields. Several research studies to investigate ways to improve sap yields from tubing systems were undertaken at both the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center (Underhill, VT) and at the Cornell University Arnot Forest (Van Etten, NY) starting at about the same time and proceeded both as independent and joint projects from 2009-2018. The results of many of these studies have been reported in the past in numerous individual publications and presentations. This article seeks to combine and present this extensive body of work into a single, comprehensive, but concise summary of our results.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
October 1, 2019

2019 Cornell Maple Program Research on 5/16åÓ Maple Tubing

During the 2019 maple season the Cornell Maple Program conducted replicated trials on 5/16Ó and 3/16Ó tubing looking at a variety of tubing options for taphole sanitation and tapping. This report will focus on the 5/16Ó results.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
October 1, 2019

Maple: The Smarter Sweetener

Explore the exciting research into Maple (syrup, sugar, sap/water, extracts), a sustainable North American agricultural crop, which has a unique chemical composition which imparts positive biological effects to its products.

Date:
October 1, 2019

The Goldilocks touch: Overdriving spouts reduces sap yield

One of the more common questions producers have when about tapping maple trees is Òhow deep should spouts be driven in to the taphole?Ó. Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer, since different spouts have different dimensions, variable degrees of taper and steps, and are made of different materials with dissimilar degrees of Òstickiness.Ó Regardless, the importance of driving spouts in to the proper depth is readily apparent: if spouts are driven too shallow there is a risk that spouts can leak vacuum or heave easily during freezes, but if driven too deeply, small cracks may form which cause liquid and vacuum leaks or alternatively, the reduced amount of exposed wood surface area inside the taphole caused by driving spouts in too deeply may reduce sap collection.

Publication:
Maple News
Date:
September 19, 2019

Maple Science

Maple education for Junior High School Audience

Date:
August 23, 2019

Effect of the new high vacuum technology on the chemical composition of maple sap and syrup

Techniques used to produce maple syrup have considerably evolved over the last decades making them more efficient and economically profitable. However, these advances must respect composition and quality standards as well as authenticity of maple products. Recently, a new and improved high vacuum technology has been made available to producers to achieve higher sap yields. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the effect of this new system on the yield of sap and on the sap and syrup chemical composition.

Publication:
Heliyon
Date:
June 1, 2019

Tapping Depth & Sap Quantity

Accepted tapping practices for 7/16 inch spouts with no vacuum called for tap holes to be drilled 2-2.5 inches deep. Later practices for 5/16 inch spouts under vacuum, call for drilling the tree to a depth of 1.5 inches. The reason for the reduction in depth, was to reduce the occurrence of drilling into dead wood, especially on trees with a long history of tapping. This can lead to reduced sap yield. When the 2018 season left us with an unusually low sap yield, the question arose: does tap depth matter when the system is under vacuum?

Date:
June 1, 2019