Drop and spout sanitation review
Considerable research has been conducted by the Cornell Maple Program and University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center on the effects of spout and tubing sanitation on improvements in sap yield and economics.
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Ask Proctor: Tiny Bubbles
Maple producers using tubing often observe bubbles emerging from the tree within the spout or first few inches of tubing when the sap is running. If the spout is not seated properly, leaks may occur.T hese are most noticeable as rapidly moving streams of small or large bubbles. At other times, these are not leaks, however repeated or overly aggressive attempts at seating spouts to make the bubbles stop can create leaks that further attempts at spout seating will only make worse.
Ask Proctor: How does Sap Move Near Tap Wounds
Because of the vertical orientation of the dominant anatomical feature of wood (vessels and fibers), sap within the stem of maple trees moves primarily in a vertical direction, either upward during as the tree is freezing/uptake phase or downward (mostly) during the thawing/exudation phase. When a tree is tapped, a zone of impermeable wood forms around the wood.
Ask Proctor: Why do I sometimes make light-colored syrup at the very end of the season?
The typical trend over a sugaring season is for syrup to start out light in color and get progressively darker, eventually ending up with very dark (and strong or off-tasting) syrup at the end. While there can be some temporary excursions up and down in syrup light transmittance, the natural progression is from light syrup early on to dark syrup near the finish. However, occasionally a syrup producer finds that right as the season is concluding the syrup color goes up dramatically and wonder why this happens.
A 20-Year Record of Syrup Production at UVM Proctor Maple Research Center from 2004-2023
The University of Vermont (UVM) Proctor Maple Research Center (PMRC) in Underhill, Vermont, has along history of research on sap production. Maple syrup has been made at PMRC since shortly after its founding in 1946, in part for research and in part for demonstration. Syrup production has always been an important component of the work of PMRC as it keeps the faculty and staff aware of the issues involved in sap collection and syrup production, it provides more of a “buy in” from producers when they understand that we face the same hurdles as they do each season, and the revenue gained from the sale of maple syrup helps to fund the operation.
Update on Plantation Maple Research by UVM
For several years researchers at the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center studied the feasibility of collecting sap from saplings as an alternative production method for maple syrup.
Innovations in Maple Sap Collection Systems: Increasing Yield in 5/16” Lateral Line Tubing
Ongoing research at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center over the past thirteen years has examined a variety of approaches to increases yield from 5/16” maple tubing systems on vacuum.
Ask Proctor: Why Isn’t Sap Yield from a Tree the Same Every Year?
We occasionally hear the question: “Even if the season is late or short, shouldn’t there be the same amount of sap produced during the time that does run than there
would have been if it were longer season or happened at ‘the usual’ time?”
Sugarbush Management Videos
This collection of 13 videos from UVM Proctor Maple Research Center includes topics ranging from invasives to regeneration to culverts.
Exudation Pressure in Maple Trees: Comparing Simulations with Experiments
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.