Tapping pattern

[MapleCreekFarm]

Got a question.... Is it possible to hurt a maple tree by the pattern of tap holes from year to year? This is just my third year and I've been moving a 45 degree angle down about 6 or 7 inches from last year's hole. I was just told this morning that this could hurt the tree. Is that true? The fellow said he goes 18" above and 18" below then the 4th year moves over 2" and repeats. I was thinking that would not be totally out of the stained wood. Any thoughts?

[82cabby]

Short answer, yes it is very possible to hurt the tree with an inappropriate tapping pattern. I generally go to the right and up so I spiral around the tree over time. There is a good thread on it here:

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?8130-Hole-spacing-year-to-year

[BAP]

You really need to be moving around the tree from year to year. Just moving up and down and over a little each creates a lot of dead wood in a relatively small portion of the tree. Give each area more time to heal by going around the tree more.

[DrTimPerkins]

Many people are under the mistaken impression that the stain (the area of nonconductive wood created by tapping) runs perfectly straight above and below the taphole. It generally does not. Mark Isselhardt (UVM Maple Extension) did a study a few years ago where he TRIED to tap into stained wood 2" directly above the prior year taphole. He missed stain a good deal of the time.

Secondly, when you tap close to an area that is stained, the new stain that develops can end up considerably larger in size than it would be if there was no stain in the area. When stained areas are close, they are able to bridge any small gap and merge to form a stain that can be quite a bit bigger than 1 stain + 1 stain, ending up more like 2.5-3 times the volume of wood impacted. The required distance between the two hasn't yet been firmly established, but best to avoid getting closer than 3-4 inches MINIMUM to each side of an old taphole if possible.

This is why reaming, redrilling or "bumping" practices are NOT sustainable in the long run. You are creating a wound that is double or more the size of the wound from a single taphole...even if you redrill the same hole or very close to it. It is NOT an acceptable practice.

Whether you do this by pattern tapping or not is immaterial as long as the full tapping band is utilized over time.

[buckeye gold]

Back when I started I never knew any better then to just drill holes. We done it as kids but I don't remember dad ever having a pattern, of course they were still stuffing tablets in holes too. For the last several years (probably at least 8) I have made an effort to tap proportionally in all the band. Since I never had a pattern I kind of just go to the opposite side of the tree from last year's scar and away from recent scars I cans see. Some of my trees are fast growers and I have many scars that are completely covered with new growth. I have actually hit an old hole before because I couldn't see a scar. What should I do when I hit an old scar that is grown over?

[DrTimPerkins]

What should I do when I hit an old scar that is grown over?

The amount of sap lost is proportional to the amount of stain you hit. The more stain, the lower the sap yield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4q7eBr1Soo&list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5&index=7

If you hit just a little stain, use the taphole. If you hit stain almost immediately, consider putting in a different taphole.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04m3SQvcGY4&list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5&index=8&t=106s

If you're using vacuum, maybe you can tap below the lateral to find fresh wood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-EEYgL7Lt0&list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5&index=6&t=5s

[buckeye gold]

Thanks Dr Tim.

I usually just go ahead and set a tap and consider it a lost tap, not wanting to drill another hole. If I hit this scenario again I'll assess and drill another hole if it all looks like old scar

[MapleCreekFarm]

Ok.... So it would seem like I should move sideways from the old tap hole a little more like 6 to 8" maybe. And if I would come up with a pattern that flips 180* and/or above and below the lateral line would be even better. Most of the trees I'm tapping are young fast growing trees 16" and less in diameter. Make sense?

[ronewold]

I'm still a newbie, but I read an article on the Lapierre website <https://elapierre.com/us/blog/three-level-tapping/> that makes a case for tapping three years in a row straight up and down- separating the holes by 16 inches vertically. After three years, he moves horizontally by two inches and repeats the "three vertical holes" pattern. I can see some potential problems with this- primarily for those on gravity tubing, in which case tapping below the lateral would not be a good idea. But otherwise, this initially looks like a good pattern to me. It requires having a tapping band of 32ish inches, which seems reasonable, especially if we are talking a vacuum system where you could tap below the lateral. Even without vacuum, I think a 32 inch tapping band above the lateral might be achievable in most situations, but I'm going to look carefully at my gravity 3/16 lines this week and see how it looks in real life.
I'm curious if Dr. Tim has any input on this particular pattern.

[DrTimPerkins]

I'm curious if Dr. Tim has any input on this particular pattern.

It is no better or no worse than other types of pattern tapping. It is all a matter of probability of hitting stain. Any practice you take to reduce stain, but also retain high sap yield, is reasonable. Hitting stain is not only bad for the tree, it is bad for the producer. Every time you hit stain you are basically dropping money at the base of the tree. The videos linked below explain it pretty well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4q7eBr1Soo&list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5&index=7&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04m3SQvcGY4&list=PLZP4fDl-nB9-4aZkQyDR070QpxcAr02q5&index=8