Search Resources

Showing 591 – 600 of all 693 resources in the database

Temperatures in the Sugarbush

One major limitation to the sap-run forecasting ability of many producers is that measurement of air temperature in one location does not capture the wide variation in air temperature throughout the sugarbush; nor does it accurately reflect the temperature of the diverse parts of trees, or of the soil. A study of the range of temperatures in the forest during sugaring time is helpful in understanding some of the influences of weather on sap flow. This article briefly summarizes a large set of data collected over the past years which includes many sugarbush temperatures, and will give a few examples of the sometimes unexpected variation in temperatures which occur during the spring.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
June 1, 2006

Relating Spectrophotometer Readings to Visual Grading of Maple Syrup

Color grading of maple syrup is based on placing syrup samples within four or more categories based either on visual comparison to color references or measurement of light transmission with a spectrophotometer. With a spectrophotometer, specific transmission values are used as break points to divide syrup samples into color grades. The purpose of this report is to describe the lack of agreement between existing light transmission break points and visual grading and how this problem can be addressed.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
June 1, 2006

Controlling Microbial Population in Sap Systems

Over the course of one maple sap season in Western New York that started approximately March 8, 2005 and ended April 9, 2005, four maple sap locations were sampled to determine the levels and diversity of microbial populations contained in the different sap samples.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
February 1, 2006

Proctor Maple Research Center Update: Investigating the Effects of Sap Processing Equipment and Techniques on Maple Syrup Chemistry & Quality

A new research facility designed and dedicated to the study of the effects of sap processing equipment and techniques on the chemistry and quality of maple syrup is being constructed at the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center. This facility will allow researchers to evaluate the differences in maple syrup due to changes in sap processing equipment, including reverse osmosis, evaporators, and other evaporation equipment (steam-away, air injection units, etc.).

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
February 1, 2006

Climate Change and the New England Forest

In the next one hundred years New England’s cooler regions may no longer promote the growth of sugar maples, which are well adapted to the region’s current climate. The change in climate will support species that now grow to the south of New England and in lower elevations, especially oaks and southern pines. Additionally, there will be the threat of non-native species, both insect pests and invasive plant species which may take over the forests.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
February 1, 2006

North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual, 2nd edition

A must have for any serious producer. One of the best books out there that cover all aspects of maple. This book has chapters on History of Maple Syrup and Sugar Production, Maple Resource, Planning an Operation, Managing Maple Trees, Sap Production, Syrup Production, Syrup Filtration, Marketing and many more. With over 300 pages this book is full of wisdom.

North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual (pdf) The maple manual is out of print. It is available instead as a for-sale PDF from Ohio State University Extension. Note that a more recent edition is available on this site here.

Date:
January 1, 2006

Making Maple Syrup in a Land of Funnel Cakes and Pulled Pork

Making maple syrup in the mild climate of southern Illinois is lesspredictable and more work. The sap seasons are longer, there is an almost certain need to freshen the tap holes, and the freeze-thaw cycles are less predictable.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
December 1, 2005

Response of Sugar Maple to Calcium Addition to Northern Hardwood Forest

Watershed budget studies at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), New Hampshire, USA, have demonstrated high calcium depletion of soil during the 20th century due, in part, to acid deposition. Over the past 25 years, tree growth (especially for sugar maple) has declined on the experimental watersheds at the HBEF. In October 1999, 0.85 Mg Ca/ha was added to Watershed 1 (W1) at the HBEF in the form of wollastonite (CaSiO3), a treatment that, by summer 2002, had raised the pH in the Oie horizon from 3.8 to 5.0 and, in the Oa horizon, from 3.9 to 4.2. We measured the response of sugar maple to the calcium fertilization treatment on W1.

Publication:
Ecology
Date:
November 23, 2005

Associations of calcium and aluminum with the growth and health of sugar maple trees in Vermont

We compared tree growth and crown condition with soil and foliar elemental composition in 14 sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stands in VT, USA, to evaluate if deficiencies or imbalances in cation nutrition were associated with growth and health reductions in native stands. The Till Source Model (TSM) was used to select study sites potentially high or low in calcium (Ca) by predicting the relative Ca concentration of soil parent material derived from glacial till. The TSM successfully identified high or low levels of soil Ca (P = 0.031) and foliar Ca (P = 0.011) among stands.

Publication:
Forest Ecology and Management
Date:
October 27, 2005