Scientists trying to produce maple syrup from trees in Hanmer Springs

A team of scientists in Canterbury think they may have found a way to produce maple syrup in New Zealand.

Maple syrup is an iconically North American product - the sap to make the syrup is harvested from maple trees in wild 'sugar bush' forests - but there could be new ways of growing the trees here.

A small plantation of maple trees was planted near Hanmer Springs last autumn and is being monitored by Canterbury University chemical engineering professor Matt Watson and his team.

Watson spoke to RNZ's Susie Ferguson: