Determining the Sap Yield of Three Maple Species and the Viability of a Maple Syrup Industry in Northern Utah

Maple syrup is an agricultural product produced from the sap exuded by maple trees. All maples can produce sap, and in Utah, the maples include the two native species bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum) and boxelder (Acer negundo), and the introduced species Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Little is known about the sap production of these species, and this research aims to examine the volume of sap yield and sugar content of these maples, evaluate the performance of bucket and tubing collection systems, and explore the potential economics of a maple industry in the state. Research on boxelder and Norway maple sap yield and sugar content were conducted in 2022 and 2023 using bucket collection system in three locations spread throughout Cache Valley, UT. Sap yield and sugar content were collected. Bigtooth maple sap yield and sugar content were studied in 2023 and 2024 in Woodland Hills, UT, using tubing systems. Total sap yield and sugar content were measured. It takes about 35 gallons of sap from boxelder and Norway maple trees to produce a single gallon of syrup, while only about 32 gallons are needed from bigtooth maple based on the sugar content of the sap. In comparison, sugar maple sap takes anywhere from 43 to 28 gallons. A single boxelder tree produces about 1.5 pints (~2.5 lbs) of syrup per tree every year, Norway maple produces about 0.5 pints (~0.8 lbs) per tree, and bigtooth produces about 1 pint (~1.7 lbs) per tree. In general, it is easier to find larger boxelder trees than bigtooth maple trees, and larger trees usually produce more. The tapping holes were healed within 6 months after tapping, with 93% of boxelder holes and 100% of Norway maple holes were completely healed. Boxelder and Norway maple trees are the best species for hobby production, as they are found throughout the towns and cities of Utah. Bigtooth maples are the ideal species for larger production due to their large numbers in the state, especially concentrated in Northern Utah along the Wasatch Mountain Range, particularly in Cache, Weber, Utah, and Box Elder counties, growing on mountain slopes

Preliminary research on the effects of freezing on sugar concentrations of artificial sap

Native Americans were one of the first people to harvest maple sap to make maple syrup or sugar. Three historically referenced methods that they used to accomplish this was by freezing, stone boiling, and direct fire (Holman Egan, 1985). Native Americans would make an incision in the bark of a maple tree and then collect the sap in a birch container; the sap would then be boiled by either of the first two methods or frozen. When frozen, the ice that formed on top of the sap would be thrown out and the concentrated sap would be collected for boiling into the final product (Holman Egan, 1985). In our own local maple syrup production at Saint John’s University, when a layer of ice forms on sap it may occasionally be discarded; we wanted to determine what, if any, maple syrup loss results from this. In our experiment we tested the freezing method implemented by Native Americans

Developing a Localized Predictive Model for Sugar Maple Sap Production Season Termination

For thousands of years, humans have been extracting the sap of the sugar maple tree for use in many areas of life. The ability to predict, as a function of environmental conditions, the critical events, like the change in the flavor of maple sap, can be critical for the success and profitability for modern maple syrup production. Four models are developed to correlate the accumulation of heating and cooling over specified periods of time with the change in maple sap flavor at a maple operation in Attica, NY. Growing degree days and cooling degree days are used to simulate this heating and cooling accumulation. After testing the four models with varying date ranges, threshold/base temperatures, cooling accumulation thresholds, and heating start dates, the data suggests there is no significant correlation between heating and cooling accumulation and the flavor change of maple sap at this location

Isolation and Structural Elucidation of Phytochemicals Present in Red Maple Flowers

Natural medicines and the use of botanical extracts in the prevention and treatment of ailments is globally gaining interest (Mazzio and Soliman, 2009). Detrimental side effects may be reduced using natural therapies (Desai et al., 2008). Worldwide, there are about 120 different maple species. Of those, thirteen are native to eastern North America (Maple Field Guide, 2002). Maple syrup is a natural sweetener derived from collected and concentrated maple tree sap. It takes about 40 liters of sap to make one liter of syrup. Maple plant parts have been used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The University of Rhode Island’s Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory (BBRL) has evaluated the biological activities of maple parts including maple leaves, bark, sap, and syrup. Results include α-glucosidase inhibition, -one of the several strategies of diabetes management, from red maple (Acer rubrum) stems (Wan, et al. 2012) and the antiproliferative effects on colon cancer cells (González-Sarrías et al,. 2012) of compounds isolated from maple sap and syrup. Of the maple plant parts studied so far, the flowers are yet to be examined for phytochemicals and biological activity. This project explores the isolation and structural elucidation of phytochemicals present in red maple flowers

THE SUGAR BUSH- MAPLE SYRUP

Maple syrup is the syrup made from the xylem sap of trees like sugar maple, red maple, black maple and some other maple species. From one of nature's true phenomena the process of maple syrup production gets started. During spring when the nights are very cold, the maple tree absorbs water from the soil. In the daytime due to warmer temperature a pressure is created which pushes the water again to the tree bottom which helps in easy collection of the maple syrup which is very precious actually. It takes almost 12 to 20 days to collect the sap depending on the area / region. KEYWORDS: Maple syrup; Spring, Warmer temperature

THE SUGAR BUSH- MAPLE SYRUP

Maple syrup is the syrup made from the xylem sap of trees like sugar maple, red maple, black maple and some other maple species. From one of nature\u27s true phenomena the process of maple syrup production gets started. During spring when the nights are very cold, the maple tree absorbs water from the soil. In the daytime due to warmer temperature a pressure is created which pushes the water again to the tree bottom which helps in easy collection of the maple syrup which is very precious actually. It takes almost 12 to 20 days to collect the sap depending on the area / region. KEYWORDS: Maple syrup; Spring, Warmer temperature

Calcium concentration in tree sap of five species of Minnesota trees as an indicator of sugar sand

Tree sap can be collected from a variety of species (sugar maple, birch, ironwood, box elder, red maple) in Minnesota. When the sap of sugar maple trees and others are cooked into syrup, a cloudy mixture of minerals precipitates out. This precipitate, called sugar sand, gives syrup an unpleasant taste and can clog up machinery if improperly managed. Sugar sand primarily consists primarily of calcium malate. Thus, calcium concentration can be a good indicator of how much sugar sand would precipitate out if sap is processed into syrup. In general, previous literature has shown that sugar maple sap has the highest calcium concentration, followed by box elder, red maple, and paper birch. The purpose of this study was to determine the possible variations in amount of sugar sand found in syrup produced from different species of trees by measuring the calcium concentration in the trees’ sap. In addition, we aimed to determine the pattern of change in concentration of calcium over the course of the season (from March 21 to late April). Two trees each of the five following species were tapped: (Acer saccharum), box elder (Acer negundo), red maple (Acer rubrum), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and ironwood (Ostrya virginiana). Trees were tapped with 5/16 spiles using standard procedures and the sap collected daily. The volume was measured and calcium concentration of the sap measured using a ion-selective calcium electrode. Results will be presented

Maple syrup: St. John’s sweetest springtime tradition

St. John’s is the home of one of Minnesota’s oldest maple syrup operations. The monks began making syrup in 1942 and have continued roughly every other spring until the present. Currently, the operation is jointly run by the Abbey and St. John’s Arboretum and it is one of the few maple syrup operations associated with a Minnesota college or university. The process by which maple syrup is made at St. John’s differs little from the procedures begun more than 60 years ago. In spring, sugar maple trees are tapped, sap is collected, and then it is boiled in the sugar house to produce syrup. Historically speaking, each year St. John’s installs about 1400 taps, collects more than 10,000 gallons of sap, and makes about 250 gallons of syrup. The best sap flow occurs from mid-March to mid-April. On average, the trees produce sap for a period of 22.5 days with a sugar content of 2.2%

Sugar Maple Monitoring Project at Stratford Ecological Center

The sugar maple is one of the most important species of tree in North America for its hard wood and for its sap, which is often tapped and made into maple syrup. The concentration of sugar within its sap becomes increasingly important as demand for the tree increases and production and growth follow suit. Sap only flows after the first thaw of the season, and thus an increase in global temperature could have drastic effects not only on the time at which the sap is harvested, but the overall amount of sap collected as a whole. Thus, an experiment was started at Stratford Ecological Center to determine how sugar maple individuals would change as the climate changed around them. Variables being measured include sugar concentration with a refractometer, and tree growth over time with dendrometers placed around the trees that are being studied. Information will be presented in a poster style format that will allow clear explanation of the results of this study