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Q. Will the mild winter affect the sugar season?

A. According to Steve Roberge, UNH Cooperative Extension Forester, the success of the maple season is dictated by the health of the trees going into the fall and the weather conditions during the maple season, not leading up to it.

During the 2011 growing season there were no major health problems on maples. There was some premature leaf drop because of a disease called maple anthracnose and some defoliation near the seacoast because of salt spray from Irene. In both cases it was close to the end of the growing season so there was no real impact.

Good sap runs in the spring depend on warm, sunny days and cold nights. What NH really needs in the next few weeks is a return to normal winter temperatures and about a foot of snow. Snow provides a white surface that reflects light and heat during the day and allows for swiftly falling temperatures at night. Roberge says, “When we have snow, nights cool down faster and so do the trees. This allows the maples to build up more pressure inside the stem and yield more sap the next day”.

In general, in southern and central NH maple sap runs from approximately mid-February to late March. In northern NH sap generally runs from the beginning of March to late April. But every year is different. Up to now, the mild weather hasn’t affected the season. And as long as we have the correct conditions when trees are tapped, we’ll have normal sap production.

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