Spout and Dropline Sanitation for High Maple Sap Yields

[Music] one of the biggest factors that determines sap yield relates to the sanitation level of spouts and drop lines trees like all living organisms respond to microbes through a well-developed wound response SAP would in a tubing system moves away from the tap hole out through the spout and into the drop line but during certain times SAP can move from the tubing system back into the tap hole when this happens microbes that grow inside the tubing can be pulled back into the tap hole and into the wood this is referred to as backflow it happens when leaks develop in the tubing system the temperature drops below freezing or when mechanical releasers dump the more microbes the tree senses within the tap hole the stronger the wound response the strategy maples employ to deal with this threat is to form a wall around the wound this wall is designed to prevent microbes from getting into wood tissues in spreading it's a process called compartmentalization although this response is not immediate it happens quickly so that by midway through the sugaring season tap holes with lower levels of Sanitation begin to flow slower and eventually dry out The Closer something is to the tap hole the more important sanitation becomes the spout accounts for about 70% of the total sanitation drop lines account for about 20% the influence of sanitation on the lateral line is far less critical approximately 10% and mainline sanitation has little influence on yield less than about 3% there are several possible strategies for achieving and maintaining good sanitation in general these fall into the categories of a replacement or cleaning the following example assumes a SAP yield of 15 gallons per tap for uncleaned and used spouts and a net value of about 50 cents per gallon results will vary proportionally with different sap yields and sat values note that the outcome from sanitation improvements will vary from year to year due to seasonal variations like temperature and yield some years sanitation changes will have big effects and other years these changes will have little or no effect the simplest replacement strategy is annual spout replacement in some cases producers will cut off the old spout and replace it with a new spout prior to the new season others opt to use a spa adapter and stubby spout system to speed up the replacement process replacing spouts puts clean material in contact for the tap hole research shows that new spouts improve sap yields by about 30% compared to not cleaning or replacing spouts this produces an average net gain of about $1 per tap ol another possible approach is to use check valve adapters or spouts these prevent sap from moving back into the tap hole producers who use check valves get the new spout effect because of their yearly replacement check valves produce a nearly 70 percent improvement in sap yield compared to reusing unclean spouts the net economic benefit of using check valves annually averages 2 dollars and 10 cents per tap another advantage of check valves is that drop lines do not need to be periodically replaced the age of drop line tubing beyond the check valve spout has little impact on yield the final replacement strategy involves changing the drop line and spout by changing both of these producers put new material where nearly 90% of sanitation problems occur replacing drops and spouts produces the highest sap yields when labor is factored in the high cost of this approach means the net profit is lower if you replace drop lines each year in the first year of replacing drop lines and spouts on an older system producers will see a nearly 75% improvement in yield in a net profit of two dollars and 30 cents per tap drop line replacement is done at periodic intervals every three years typically yields the best results in the first year following drop line replacement only the spouts need to be replaced yield will drop somewhat but costs are minimal in the second year after drop line replacement the spouts are replaced again resulting in another modest drop in yield in total sap yields over the three year period average about 50% over no replacement or cleaning with an average net profit of about a dollar and fifty cents per tap to use this strategy divide the Sugarbush into three sections replace the drop lines in one section each year this spreads out the work and the risk that sanitation effects will be low given the weather conditions during the season the next category in a sanitation of 5/16 inch tubing systems is cleaning this involves introducing a cleaning or sanitizing agent into the tubing system often this is done with a backpack sprayer that injects sanitizer in through the spout clean in the fall prior to freezing weather to achieve the best results it is critical to meet the required amount of contact time for the sanitizer to work the cleaning solution needs to be in contact with a spout and drop line for at least 5 to 10 minutes pulling the sanitizer in under vacuum does not provide sufficient time for the sanitizer to be effective an unscented chlorine solution of 400 parts per million is a common inexpensive and easy to handle sanitizer used in Maple production the primary disadvantage is that chlorine attracts squirrels which chew on tubing care should be taken to avoid getting chlorine on the outs of tubing another disadvantage to chlorine is that the solution should be rinsed from the tubing with water or allow the first SAP to run on the ground this prevents a salty off flavor in the syrup when chlorine is used properly sap yields increased by about 77% above that of unclean systems the net profit of this strategy is about $2 per tap research has shown that peroxide and peroxide of peri oxidic acid is ineffective in controlling microbial populations and tubing systems regardless of the duration of contact time sap yield improvements were less than 22% and net profits were typically negative isopropyl alcohol for IPA is approved for use in Quebec but is illegal to use in the United States using IPA in the US may result in fines and legal action zap back spouts or adapters use antimicrobial silver embedded in the spout to reduce microbes these spouts are used on a three-year rotation new spouts are placed on a tap all the first year and reused for the next two seasons before being replaced although more research is needed early indications are that zap backs improved sap yield by about 42 percent across the three year lifespan of the spouse with a net profit of $1 and 48 cents per tap zabbix mounts are not approved for certified organic maple production and may result in a loss of certification spell replacement strategies produce the highest yields and net profits and vacuum tubing operations the use of check valve spouts and adapters or using new spouts each year combined with a drop line replacement every three years produces optimal results in terms of net profit only replacing the spouts increases yield one third and less than half the net profit as opposed to using check valve or spouts replace and combined with three-year drop replacement spouts replacement alone will help but only produces a moderate increase in sappy land profit using check valves or a three-year drop in spouts replacement interval will typically produce the best net outcome [Music]

Channel: UVM Proctor Maple Research Center

Views: 18,451

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Id: z35z6oZDz4A

Length: 9min 30sec (570 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 01 2020