sugar content following the not so good season???

[red maples]

So since last year was not the best year for most across the maple producing area, could there be a higher amount of sugar in the sap this year? or since the trees were stressed early did they use their sugar stores to help reproduce buds or leaves etc. in some cases. do the trees take in only a certain amount of carbs to convert to sugars? Or will it not even matter? or we just have to wait and see. just wondering.....

another thought....
So we tap the same trees every year and take the sap. does the tree sense this that there is less sap/nutrients going to the buds and produce / store more carbs to turn into nutrients for the following year to compensate for the extra loss of sap? I would assume especially on vacuum we do stress the trees somewhat. I know there are studies going to see if it is infact possible to take out too much sap. and for that matter how much sap does an average healthy tree move through its trunk in an average spring if there is a way to tell that? (not cosidering all variables of course)

[SeanD]

You have some good questions and I'm sure the good doctor is going to answer a bunch of them. I'm thinking the previous growing season has a bigger impact on sugar content than does the previous sugaring season.

I'm anxious to see what this coming year is like because last summer here in my area, we had a really good growing season - at least the garden and the bees thought so. I didn't get the drought that most dealt with. Furthermore, we didn't have any catastrophic events in this area like we've had for the last few seasons - drought, damaging hail, wind storms, ice storms, etc. For example, the summer of 2011 drought followed by Hurricane Irene led to most of my trees losing almost all of their leaves in early September. That had to have had an impact on the low sugar content last season.

So far the winter is off to a good start, with some extended deep freezes for the first time in a couple of years. A year ago at this time, we were waiting for winter to even show up at all. When the January thaw came, we thought (and were right in the end) that it was actually the end of winter. I hope we stay on track for a gradual warm up this year.

Anyway, I'm curious to see what kind of sugar I get after a "normal" growing season.

Sean

[40to1]

Someone wiser than me mentioned that the summer of 2011 was a big seeding year for maples in the area (much like oak trees had in 2010). The result was that the trees were spent, and the low sugar percentages reflected that.
Hopefully 2013 will be sweeter.....

[DrTimPerkins]

So since last year was not the best year for most across the maple producing area, could there be a higher amount of sugar in the sap this year? or since the trees were stressed early did they use their sugar stores to help reproduce buds or leaves etc. in some cases. do the trees take in only a certain amount of carbs to convert to sugars? Or will it not even matter? or we just have to wait and see. just wondering.....

another thought....
So we tap the same trees every year and take the sap. does the tree sense this that there is less sap/nutrients going to the buds and produce / store more carbs to turn into nutrients for the following year to compensate for the extra loss of sap? I would assume especially on vacuum we do stress the trees somewhat. I know there are studies going to see if it is infact possible to take out too much sap. and for that matter how much sap does an average healthy tree move through its trunk in an average spring if there is a way to tell that? (not cosidering all variables of course)

Most of the variation maple producers see in sugar content is probably due to temperature-induced factors. Freeze thaw not only helps generate sap flow, but also helps spur the conversion of stored starches to sugar (sucrose). A long flow period without a freeze (especially under vacuum) will result in a slow decline in sap sugar content. So depending upon how often you have freeze-thaw conditions will dictate the sap sugar content.

There is almost always a fair amount of excess sugar that is stored in the wood of the tree. After a period of time, it can be considered permanently lost (at least as far as maple production is concerned).

In general, for trees that are healthy and dominant or co-dominant, we remove only a small fraction of the total carbohydrate reserves through tapping. While this might result in a very small impact on growth, it typically isn't discernable.

The amount of sap moving the the trunk of a maple tree in the spring will vary depending upon the number of freeze-thaw cycles. No set amount.

[DrTimPerkins]

Someone wiser than me mentioned that the summer of 2011 was a big seeding year for maples in the area (much like oak trees had in 2010). The result was that the trees were spent, and the low sugar percentages reflected that.

While this is an oft-repeated claim....I haven't seen a lot of evidence to suggest it is true. Stay tuned though....we are working on a dataset that includes seed production as one variable in the analysis of factors affecting sap yield and sap sugar content.