Guidelines for Number of Taps per Tree Diameter in inches Trees with large crowns extending down towards the ground are usually the best sap producers. The shape and size of the crown are also important. No tree should ever have more than three taps. Trees over 25 inches in diameter can sustain three taps. A second tap may be added to trees between 20 and 25 inches in diameter. Trees between 10 and 20 inches in diameter should have no more than one tap per tree. How To Do ItĪ tree should be at least 10 inches in diameter, measured at 4 1/2 feet above the ground, before tapping. When a hole is bored into a tree, wood fibers that are water- (sap-) carrying vessels are severed, so sap drips out of the tree. Rising temperature creates pressure inside trees, causing sap to flow. In March and April, the sugar changes back to starch-except during periods of flow. This sugar then passes into the tree sap.Īs the temperature increases to about 45 degrees F, the enzymes stop functioning and sugar is no longer produced. Whenever wood temperatures reach around 40 degrees F, enzymes in the ray cells change the starches to sugars, largely sucrose. This excess starch remains in storage as long as the wood remains colder than about 40 degrees F. In the later summer and fall, maple trees virtually stop growing and begin storing excess starches throughout the sapwood, especially in cells called ray cells. Understanding how maple sap is formed requires some knowledge about tree physiology. It may be high in the morning and lower in the afternoon. Sugar content can also vary depending on the time of day. Red maples (Acer rubrum) also provide sweet sap. Sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum), also known as rock or hard maple, are usually the best producers. The average maple tree produces sap with a sugar content of two or three percent. The sugar content of sap produced by different trees in a grove can vary a great deal. It takes about 10 gallons of sap to produce one quart of syrup. However, under favorable conditions, a single taphole can produce as much as 40 to 80 gallons of sap in a single year. The average yield for a taphole is from five to 15 gallons. Sap yield is usually expressed in terms of the number of tapholes, rather than the number of trees. The yield of sap varies greatly with the method of tapping, the size of the tree, and seasonal differences. In 1663, English chemist Robert Boyle told associates in Europe, “There is in some parts of New England a kind of tree whose juice that weeps out its incision, if it is permitted slowly to exhale away the superfluous moisture, doth congeal into a sweet and saccharin substance and the like was confirmed to me by the agent of the great and populace colony of Massachusetts.” How Much Syrup Can I Get? Maple syrup and sugar were used for barter by Indians living along the Great Lakes and the St. However, we know that maple syrup was an important commodity in the North American Indian economy. No one really knows who first discovered how to make syrup and sugar from the sap of a maple tree. Revised by Kathy Hopkins, Extension educator, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.įor information about UMaine Extension programs and resources, visit .įind more of our publications and books at /publications/. Prepared by Marvin (Bud) Blumenstock, Extension forestry specialist, University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Bulletin #7036, How to Tap Maple Trees (PDF)
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