Assessing the effect of ensiling moisture and sampling date on silage quality and subsequent yield of North American elderberry

After harvesting the berries from the elderberry plant, the remaining plant residue can serve as a fodder for ruminants. A laboratory silo experiment was conducted to determine the effect of a) ensiling immediately after cutting [38–47% dry matter (DM), or after wilting (47–54% DM)] and b) ensiling dates: early post-harvest, mid post-harvest, and late post-harvest on the nutritive values and fermentation parameters of ensiled elderberry fodder. Early-harvest and unwilted fodder exhibited the lowest DM ( P  < 0.001) and the highest crude protein (CP: P  < 0.024) in post-ensiled silage. Ensiling after later harvest dates significantly decreased total digestible nutrients and increased acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and lignin ( P  < 0.01). Moisture by harvest date interactions were observed for calcium ( P  = 0.017), phosphorus ( P  = 0.005), magnesium ( P  < 0.01), potassium ( P  = 0.002), and sulfur ( P  = 0.03). Early harvested and unwilted fodder exhibited the greater forage mineral concentrations in post-ensiled silage compared with wilting levels and harvest dates. Iron, zinc, manganese, ash, non-fiber carbohydrate, net energy for lactose, net energy for maintenance, and relative feed value concentrations in post-ensiled silage from late harvest were lower than those from early harvest fodder ( P  < 0.05). Wilting and/or post-harvest ensiling dates impacted fermentation parameters such as butyric acid, pH, acetic acid, ammonia, lactic acid, formic acid, and succinic acid of post-ensiled elderberry. The timing of forage harvest, whether early or late, following the berry harvest did not affect berry yield in the following year. In conclusion, the post-ensiled nutritive values, including higher CP and most mineral concentrations and lower fiber levels, were observed in early harvest elderberry fodder compared with late harvest.