Tim Perkins, University of Vermont (IMAGE)

University of Vermont

Tim Perkins, University of Vermont

Caption

Tim Perkins, director of the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center, holds the innovative new spout he developed for tapping maple trees in the production of maple syrup. The spout increases sap production by 50 to 90 percent per tree. The spout employs a small ball, visible to the left, to block bacterial backflow into the tree's tap hole, which stimulates a wound response that block the tap hole and ends sap flow.

Credit

Sally McCay

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