Once the progeny test trees were about seven years old, they were large enough to test for sap sweetness. The scientists measured their sap sugar content. They determined that sap sweetness was indeed partly controlled by genetics. Scientists at the Cornell Uihlein Sugar Maple Field Station selected the best trees from the progeny test to plant in the Lake Placid seed orchard. Eventually this orchard will produce seed for growers throughout the Northeast.
Most maple producers tap trees that reproduced naturally from seeds in the forest.
In the future, maple producers may want to plant trees that have been bred for sap sweetness and other characteristics. Because many farmers in the Northeast have recently taken land out of farming, abandoned fields are abundant and could be used for sugar maple plantations. But not much is known about growing maple seedlings in open areas like abandoned fields. Thus, the next step in the Sugar Maple Tree Improvement Program was to test different ways to establish seedlings in abandoned agricultural fields. Currently, twelve farmers from New York State and Pennsylvania are conducting experiments in cooperation with the Maple Team of the Cornell Sugar Maple Program, to see how well maple seedlings grow in abandoned fields in different regions of these states.