Sugar Maple and Red Maple Face-Off: Which Produces More and Sweeter Sap?
Source abstract
Abstract
Among the species used for syrup production, sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) is preferred by producers, while red maple (Acer rubrum L.) is considered less productive in terms of sap yield and sugar content. This study aims to measure the volume and physicochemical characteristics of the sap produced from two red maples and two sugar maples during the 2023 sugar season in a commercial sugarbush in Laterrière (QC, Canada). Sap exudation was measured continuously with the gravity method using automatic rain gauges. Sap production was discontinuous and heterogeneous, reaching 2.6 L during the most productive day. No significant difference was found in the daily production between species, but we observed a difference in the cumulative sap production (7 L in red maple vs. 13.5 L in sugar maple) due to a longer period of sap exudation in the latter. Despite daily variations in pH, Brix values, sucrose concentration, osmolality, and conductivity, no differences in physicochemical characteristics were detected between species.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Fermentation and Sensory Analysis · Horticultural and Viticultural Research · Natural Products and Biological Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 Boulevard de L’Université, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 2B1, Canada
Funding
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada · Observatoire régional de recherche en forêt boréale · Créneau d’excellence acéricole · Club acéricole du Sud du Québec · Syndicat des producteurs des bois du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean · Producteurs et productrices acéricoles du Québec · Centre ACER
References (42)
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