How many taps per tree?

[philkasza]

I was wondering where I might find some of the research that was done on how many taps per tree and the percentage of more yield per tap as you go from 1 to 2 taps or 3 to 4 taps etc. etc.? Did cornell do some research on that? I think I heard from somewhere that 4 taps actually gives less sap than 3 taps, is that right? All this is talking at least 22" of vaccum. Thanks for your response, I know this was talked about on here before but could not find it.

Sam

[spud]

If i remember correctly, Proctor is in the process of doing some research on this subject. You might want to ask Dr. Tim or look up their site. I think i was told that a 24 inch tree could take a second tap. Although by doing this you will drop from a .50 GPT to a .35 GPT on that tree. The good thing is you will get .70 out of that tree which is a .20 GPT increase. If you had a thousand 24 inch trees in your woods and only one tapped them you could get .50 GPT. This wood give you 21,500 gallons of sap for the season. The same trees with two taps could give you 30,000 gallons of sap under the same conditions. That is a 8500 gallon difference or 198 more gallons of syrup. A third tap in a tree may not be worth your money.

Spud

[rchase]

tim wilmott from the uvm maple extension. did a study on this, in his study he put two taps on 16" trees. if i can remember right he got 50% more.

[DrTimPerkins]

tim wilmott from the uvm maple extension. did a study on this, in his study he put two taps on 16" trees. if i can remember right he got 50% more.

Tim Wilmot (UVM Maple Extension Specialist, stationed at UVM PMRC) just reported on that study at the NAMSC meeting in Oct 2011. It'll probably be published within the next year or so. This is a study that was funded by the NAMSC, and is a good example of how your "penny per container" donation on plastic jugs and metal containers is used.

[spud]

Dr. Tim,

Surly You could sneak some information to us so we don't have to wait a year or so. You are the ( Good Doctor ) you know. If i could two tap a 16 inch tree and benefit from it with high vac then i could add another 400-500 taps this week to my operation. If i drive over to Proctor would you be willing to share some information. I'm just looking to make as much sap per tap as i can without hurting the trees. I plan to run high vac on a brand new system.

Spud

[DrTimPerkins]

Surly You could sneak some information to us so we don't have to wait a year or so. You are the ( Good Doctor ) you know. If i could two tap a 16 inch tree and benefit from it with high vac then i could add another 400-500 taps this week to my operation. If i drive over to Proctor would you be willing to share some information. I'm just looking to make as much sap per tap as i can without hurting the trees. I plan to run high vac on a brand new system.

Spud (and all),

First off....please don't just drive over. Much as we do enjoy visiting with sugarmakers :) , it is very inefficient to have to answer the same question from people through one-on-one meetings than through other ways (such as this, or in presentations, or maple conferences). If you do have some special circumstances or questions and need to visit, it's best to email or call to set up an appointment. That way we can be sure someone will be here to chat with you (we don't want you to waste a trip), and it is far less disruptive to our work (we may be in the middle of some research that can't be stopped). We typically will give folks about an hour of consultation time in a visit.

Regarding answering your question about how much more sap you can get from 2 taps.....this is not my research. It is Tim Wilmot's (UVM Maple Extension) work, so he should be the one to present it and answer questions, at least for a period of time. I can ask him if he would write up a 1-2 sentence summary. Will let you know. Unfortunately there is always a lag between the time some work is done and when it is written up and published somewhere. Just a fact of life.

[rchase]

I just saw a slide show tim wilmott presented in brattleboro,vt. i looked thought my notes and he found that he got 52.2% more sap out of two taps vs. one. On 16" trees with 22 in vac.

[DrTimPerkins]

I just saw a slide show tim wilmott presented in brattleboro,vt. i looked thought my notes and he found that he got 52.2% more sap out of two taps vs. one. On 16" trees with 22 in vac.

This is correct, but the full story is a bit more complicated than that. I spoke with Tim Wilmot about this today. He said he will be presenting this talk (sap yield on 1tap versus 2 under vacuum) at the NYS Maple Conference (Jan 7-Verona, NY) and at all the Vermont Maple Conferences (Jan 14-Middlebury, VT, Jan 21-Hyde Park, VT, and Feb 4-Bellows Falls, VT). After that it will be published in the Maple Digest and posted online at the UVM Maple Extension and UVM Proctor Maple Research Center webpages.