Leave Taps in?

[steve J]

I was down in Southern VT this weekend hunting the property my friends have lease out the lower portion to a maple syrup producer. This producer has about 1200 taps on gravity there and at end of year did not pull his taps. I have never seen this done or heard of it is this considered a good process? I was told by land owner the feeling was trees would heal better? This also means lines were never cleaned.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I don't know how the tree could heal better, Most of my taps from last year are 75% or more healed on the surface at this point. Leaving the spout in is keeping that tap hole from closing up. I have heard that some of the huge producers leave taps in and just move them when they tap the next year as a labor saving device but I hardly think it is good practice for the health of the tree.

[maple maniac65]

I agree, tap holes will not heal with a tap in it. Adventually the tree will grow around the tap and the inside of the hole will be rotton wood not dead wood. It is also a place for water to collect and sit in a tree which is not good for it. I am leasing a orchard that the taps were never pulled 25 years ago. The holes have not sealed and in most places we are breaking the bark off to pull the old taps out if we can get them out.

[DrTimPerkins]

I don't know how the tree could heal better, Most of my taps from last year are 75% or more healed on the surface at this point. Leaving the spout in is keeping that tap hole from closing up. I have heard that some of the huge producers leave taps in and just move them when they tap the next year as a labor saving device but I hardly think it is good practice for the health of the tree.

I think everyone can agree that leaving taps in is probably not BETTER than pulling them. It does require less labor from the sugarmaker though. The real question is whether it is detrimental to tree health.

There is a NAMSC funded research project going on right now headed up by Dr. Gary Graham of Ohio State Univ (UVM PMRC is cooperating on this research project) to look at the effects of leaving spouts in on internal wounding. Results will probably be out in 6-12 months.