Vacuum and Sap Minerals

Uploaded by uvmext on 02/22/2022

Tags: maple  

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A modern maple operation relies on a tubing system with vacuum to maximize sap production. The innovation of plastic tubing originally came as a labor-saving device and not to increase sap yield from individual trees. As the materials used to produce maple tubing became more robust and vacuum pumps were employed, the increases in sap yield became obvious. There are many questions about how the use of vacuum tubing does or does not impact the tree or the sap harvested from the tree. Research done at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center sought to answer some of the common questions. To answer the question if the naturally occurring concentrations of minerals change as more vacuum is applied to the tap hole, groups of trees were tapped and exposed to various levels of vacuum ranging from 15 to 25 Hg (inches of mercury, a unit also used in weather reporting, is a measurement of vacuum). A control treatment with no applied vacuum was also included. Samples of sap were collected through the season and analyzed for the most abundant, naturally occurring minerals in sap. The results indicate that compared to sap collected using vacuum had similar concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron and manganese compared to gravity collected sap. As with many experiments, the results lead to more questions and the need for additional research