Effects of substituting concentrate mix with

water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

leaves on feed intake, digestibility and
growth performance of Washera sheep fed
rice straw-based diet
Shigdaf Mekuriaw, Firew Tegegne,
Atsushi Tsunekawa & Toshiyoshi
Ichinohe

Tropical Animal Health and

Production

ISSN 0049-4747

Trop Anim Health Prod

DOI 10.1007/s11250-018-1519-5

1 23
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Tropical Animal Health and Production
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1519-5

REGULAR ARTICLES

Effects of substituting concentrate mix with water hyacinth

(Eichhornia crassipes) leaves on feed intake, digestibility and growth
performance of Washera sheep fed rice straw-based diet
Shigdaf Mekuriaw 1,2 & Firew Tegegne 1,3 & Atsushi Tsunekawa 1 & Toshiyoshi Ichinohe 4

Received: 1 February 2017 / Accepted: 22 January 2018

# Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
The objective of this experiment was to determine effects of substituting concentrate mixture (CM) with water hyacinth
(Eichhornia crassipes) leaves (WHL) at different inclusion levels of feed and nutrient intake, digestibility, and growth perfor-
mance of Washera sheep. Twenty yearlings intact male sheep with initial body weight of 24.1 ± 1.68 kg (mean ± SD) were used in
both 90 days of feeding and 7 days of digestibility trials. The experimental animals were arranged into four blocks of five animals
based on their initial body weight. The dietary treatments used in the experiment were 100% concentrate mix (0WHL-T1), 50%
WHL and 50% CM (50WHL–T2), 75% WHL and 25% concentrate mix (75WHL-T3), and 100% WHL (100WHL-T4). Rice
straw was given ad libitum. The crude protein (CP) content of water hyacinth leaf is 14.4%. Dry matter digestibility was greater
(p < 0.001) for 0WHL and 50WHL followed by 75WHL. The average daily weight gain was higher for 100% concentrate mix
followed by 50 and 75% water hyacinth leave supplemented sheep. Therefore, wilted water hyacinth leave can safely substitute
concentrate mix up to 75% and result in the optimum growth of Washera sheep from the feeding regime employed in this study.

Keywords Water hyacinth leaf . Rice straw . Body weight . Digestibility . Washera sheep

Introduction in Ethiopia since its first presence in 1965 (Stroud 1994; Rezene
2005). Its presence in Lake Tana has been recognized in 2011
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a free-floating perennial (Tewabe 2015). Since its sighting, several efforts have been done
aquatic plant which is a widely prevalent and enormously fast- to control and eradicate the weed in collaborated approaches.
growing aquatic weed in almost all tropical nations (Adeyemi Unfortunately, it was not successful because of its fast expansion
and Osubor 2016). Water hyacinth (WH) multiplies rapidly and rate and invasive behavior of the plant (Wassie et al. 2014).
forms dense mats; it produces seeds in large quantity which may When we looked from a resource angle, it appears to be a
remain viable for up to 30 years (Simpson and Sanderson 2002) valuable resource with several unique properties. There are
which interfere with waterways, decimate aquatic wildlife, create potential benefits from WH such as animal fodder, water pu-
ideal conditions for diseases and its vectors, etc. (Kushwaha rification, fiberboard, biogas, fertilizer, and paper production
2012). It has been recognized as the most damaging aquatic weed (Lindsey and Hirt 1999; Chhay et al. 2007). In Malaysia,
Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, water hyacinth is used
as feed for pigs, ducks, and fish (Jianbo et al. 2008). Jianqing
* Shigdaf Mekuriaw
et al. 2001 reported that during the 1950s–1970s, water hya-
[email protected]
cinth was widely used for animal food in China, as at that
time, the economy in rural areas was very depressed and
1
Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan there was great shortage of food for animals. As indicated
2
Andasa Livestock Research Center, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia by Oguniade et al. (1988) because its dry matter has high
3
Department of Animal Production and Technology, Bahir Dar crude protein (18%) and low acid detergent fiber (33%) con-
University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia tents, the water hyacinth has potential as a roughage source for
4
Faculty of Life and Environmental Science, Shimane University, ruminants. Researchers also evaluated WH as a feed source to
Matsue, Japan cattle (Thu 2011), goats (Hira et al. 2002), and sheep (Abou-
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Trop Anim Health Prod

Raya et al. 1980). Livestock in the tropics is still facing the regarded as a pan-tropical aquatic weed (HoThanh and Udén
challenges of poor nutrition, as the available crop residues are 2013). The name water hyacinth refers to its aquatic habitat
of low nutritive value. One way to alleviate this feed shortage and the similarity of the flower color to that of the garden
would be the development of new technology for the utiliza- hyacinth (Parsons and Cuthbertson 2001). Water hyacinths,
tion of aquatic plants as livestock feed. Water hyacinth could a free-floating macrophyte, live at the air-water interface and
provide an accessible feed resource for livestock that is con- an erect, free-floating, stoloniferous, perennial herb (Khanna
sidered as one of the more effective physical control methods et al. 2011).
(Ho Thanh 2015). Rajib and Balen (2004) also reported that At present, water hyacinth has become a major invasive
WH can be an inexpensive source of animal feed. So, proper alien weed in the water bodies of Ethiopia having successfully
and large-scale utilization could serve as a positive approach established and invaded different water bodies. Most of the
to the control of WH (Anushree 2007). lakes of Ethiopia are predominated with high water hyacinth
The chemical composition of water hyacinth varies consid- infestation. The incidence and intensity of water hyacinth in-
erably according to the location and season (Shafy et al. 2016). festation in Lake Tana are still increasing through fragmenta-
Due to its relatively high crude protein (CP) content (5.8– tion of established plants and extends towards the southern tip
25.6%), WH can be considered as a potential protein supple- of the Tana (Stave et al. 2017). Asmare (2017) also reported
ment for livestock which is commonly fed cereal crop residues that even if a tremendous amount of human labor, time, and
whose contribution as a source of feed is increasing in Ethiopia money has been exerted each year by both surrounding com-
(Shigdaf et al. 2016). This contributes for substitution of con- munity and government, its coverage continues to escalate
centrate feeds that became costly and inaccessible for protein from 20 ha in 2012 to around 50,000 ha in 2014 that close
supplementation of the animals for smallholder livestock pro- to more than 30% of the shoreline of the north-eastern part of
duction. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate effects of the Lake. Consequently, it will invade the Blue Nile River
substituting concentrate mix with water hyacinth leaves at dif- starting from its source, and the Great Ethiopian
ferent levels on feed intake, digestibility, and growth perfor- Renaissance Dam (GERD) (Tewabe 2015; Wassie et al.
mance of Washera sheep fed a rice straw-based diet. 2014). It also affects the farmlands surrounded the lake and
even part of the lake that being cultivated when the water
subsides (Kefelegn 2013).
Materials and methods
Feed preparation
Study area
Water hyacinth leaves were harvested from Lake Tana in the
The feeding trial was conducted at the Zenzelma Campus in
shoreline of Gonder Zuria district of Lemba and Mitirha Aba
College of Agriculture and Environmental Science of Bahir
Warka Kebeles. The freshly harvested water hyacinth leaves
Dar University, around Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Lake Tana,
were wilted under shade for 24 h before feeding to the sheep.
which is invaded by water hyacinth, is geographically located
The concentrate mix was purchased from Aba Wengele feed
in the north-western part of Ethiopia, between latitude 10°
processing enterprise in Bahir Dar Town. The Concentrate
58`–12° 47′ N and longitude 36° 45`–38° 14′ E. It has a sur-
mix consisted of noug seed cake (50%), wheat bran (20%),
face area of 3200 km2, a mean depth of 8 m, and a maximum
maize grain (29%), and common salt (1%). The basal diet-rice
depth of 14 m with fluctuations due to increasing siltation
straw was purchased from the farmers around Lake Tana in
levels. The lake lies at an altitude of 1840 m.a.s.l. The mean
Fogera Plain.
annual rainfall of the catchment of Lake Tana is about
1280 mm. Air temperature shows large diurnal but small sea-
sonal changes with an annual average of 20 °C (Setegn et al. Experimental animals and their management
2011). The Lake Tana watershed consists of 347 Kebeles (the
lowest administrative units in Ethiopia) and 21 districts in four Twenty yearlings intact Washera sheep with the average body
administrative zones (IFAD 2007). weight of 24.1 ± 1.68 kg (mean ± SD) were purchased from
Adet Market. The age of the sheep was determined by denti-
Description of the aquatic plant and its status tion and information from the owners. The animals were
in Ethiopian water bodies quarantined for 2 weeks at the site of the experiment to ob-
serve any illness. The animals were vaccinated against ovine
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) belongs to Kingdom- pasteurellosis and anthrax. The sheep were also de-wormed
Plantae, Order-Commelinids, and Family-Pontederiacea against internal and external parasites using albendazole
(Hossain et al. 2015). The family Pontederiaceae has nine (300 mg/head), tetramizole tablet, and diazinon (60%). The
genera including Eichhornia; only Eichhornia crassipes is experimental animals were housed in an individual pen in a
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ventilated shade. The pens were equipped with feeding and Body weight change and feed conversation efficiency
watering troughs. (FCE)

The initial and final body weights were obtained by weighing

Experimental design and treatments sheep on two consecutive days before feeding and watering
using 50 kg digital hanging weighing scale made in Zhejiang,
The experimental design was a randomized complete block China. Experimental sheeps were subsequently weighed at
design with four treatments and five replications. The treat- 10-day intervals during the feeding trial period. The daily
ments were then randomly assigned to the sheep in each weight gain was calculated as the difference between final
block. The treatment diets were T1 = 100% CM (0WHL-wa- BW and initial BW divided by the number of feeding days.
ter hyacinth leaves), T2 = 50% WHL + 50% CM (50WHL), Feed conversion efficiency was calculated as average daily
T3 = 75% WHL + 25% CM (75WHL), and T4 = 100% wilted gain (ADG) divided by feed intake.
WHL (100WHL). Rice straw was given ad libitum to have
20% refusal. The ration formulation of experimental diets and Chemical analysis
concentrate mix was done using win feed software 8 (2008).
Experimental animals were allowed to adapt to experimental Representative samples of feeds offered and refusals were
diets for 2 weeks before the commencement of actual feeding collected and the chemical analysis was done at ruminant
trial. The feeding trial lasted for 90 consecutive days. nutrition laboratory of Shimane University, Japan while fecal
sample analysis was done at the Food and Nutrition
Laboratory of Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar
Feed intake
University, Ethiopia. Heavy metal content of water hyacinth
for its toxicity was detected using flame atomic absorption
The amounts of feed offered and refused were recorded daily
spectrophotometer in Tottori University, Japan. The dry matter
for each sheep. Daily feed intake was measured as differences
(DM), organic matter (OM), and CP concentration of different
between offered and refusal feeds. Samples of feed offer from
parts of water hyacinth were analyzed according to the proce-
all diets and refusals were collected each morning prior to
dures of AOAC (1990). Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was
offering fresh feed and weighed to measure the feed intake
analyzed according to the procedures of Van Soest et al.
throughout the experimental period. Subsamples were taken
(1991). The organic matter digestibility (OMD) and metabo-
and prepared for chemical analysis.
lizable energy (ME) content were estimated by the method of
Diets were offered three times per day at morning, midday,
Menke and Steingass (1988). The in vitro gas production
and evening. Feed leftovers were weighed daily to adjust vol-
technique used to determine ME concentration.
untary intake.

Statistical analysis
Digestibility and feeding trials
The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of data on feed intake,
Each sheep was fitted with fecal collection bags for 4 days of body weight change, and digestibility was run using the
acclimatization period following collection of feces for seven general linear model procedure of SAS (2008). Initial BW
consecutive days. Total feces voided over 24 h was weighed was used as a covariate for statistical analysis of ADG
daily for each sheep, and after thoroughly mixing, 20% rep- and FBW. Differences between treatment means were sep-
resentative samples were taken and kept frozen at − 10 °C. arated using Duncan’s multiple range tests when the effect
The daily collected fecal samples were pooled over the col- of treatment was significant. A significance level of 5%
lection period for each animal. At the end of the collection was adopted for all statistical analysis. Linear and qua-
period, samples from each sheep were mixed and dried at dratic polynomial contrasts were performed to determine
60 °C to a constant weight. The digestibility of nutrients was the effects of inclusion levels of the water hyacinth in the
determined as the difference between nutrients intake and that diet. The statistical model used for analysis of feed intake,
recovered in fecal expressed as a proportion of nutrients in- FCE, digestibility, and body weight change was Yij = μ +
take. Ti + Bj + Eij.
Where:
The digestion coefficientðDCÞ Yij observation of body weight in the jth
block and ith treatment;
½Total Nutrient Intake−Nutrient excreted in faeces
¼ μ the overall mean;
½Total Nutrient intake
Ti the ith treatment effect;
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Bj the jth block effect; IBW was used as a Body weight change and feed conversation efficiency
covariate for ADG and FBW. (FCE)
Eij the random error.
Final BW, ADG, and FCE were significantly affected by
WHL supplementation and had a similar trend across treat-
ments (Table 4). Among the supplemented treatments, sheep
on 0WHL performed better (P < 0.001) in ADG than sheep
Results supplemented by 50WHL and 75WHL.

Chemical composition of the experimental feeds

Discussion
The chemical composition analysis of the experimental feed
items constituting treatment diets is presented in Table 1. In Chemical composition of water hyacinth leaves
this experimental diet, the concentrate mix has high crude
protein content (24.1%) followed by the water hyacinth leaves The CP content of water hyacinth in the current study is com-
(14.4%). As expected, the water hyacinth leaves had more parable to common leguminous fodders and greater than most
than three times crude protein content than the rice straw grasses available in Africa (Pamo et al. 2007; Hossain et al.
(3.9%). 2015) and Ethiopia (Shenkute et al. 2012). Sindhu et al.
(2017) indicated that high protein content in the leaves and
rapid growth have made WH potential for use as fodder for
Feed and nutrient intake cows, goats, pigs, ducks, etc. Hossain et al. (2015) also report-
ed that WH can be utilized as feed for animals, especially
A significant difference was recorded in total dry matter intake ruminants, as basal feed resources or supplements, as it con-
among treatment groups (Table 2). The total DM intake de- tains moderate crude protein content (10.5%). The chemical
clined as the level of WH inclusion increased. The DM intakes composition of WH differs according to the region where it is
as a percent of BW and metabolic BW were higher (P < 0.001) collected and depends on the nutrients available in the envi-
for 0WHL and 50WHL than 100WHL. The same trend was ronment (de Vasconcelos et al. 2016). It can also assist farmers
observed for CP intake. The total CP intake of 100WHL sup- by ensuring sustainable production with the lowest cost diets
plement had a significant difference with 0WHL, 50WHL, for cattle. Thus, water hyacinth leaves may be considered as a
and 75WHL; while the CP intake of 50WHL supplemented valuable supplement for animals fed on low nutrient quality
group was statistically similar to 75WHL. feed such as rice straw and tropical grasses (Cheat 2010).

Feed and nutrient intake

Apparent digestibility of DM and nutrients
The lowest feed intake by sheep on 100WHL supplementa-
The DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility coefficients of tion. This might be associated with high moisture and heavy
treatment diets are given in Table 3. Significantly higher di- metal contents that tend to reduce DM intake. Mako (2013)
gestibility of DM (P < 0.001), OM (P < 0.001), CP observed DM intake reduction in goats fed with dehydrated
(P < 0.001), and NDF (P < 0.001) were observed among treat- WH replacing guinea grass, implying that it could not be used
ments. The apparent digestibility of 0WHL and 50WHL was as sole forage or at a high proportion in the diet of ruminants.
higher (P < 0.001) than 75WHL and 100WHL. However, by providing a fiber source (rice straw), Khan et al.
(2002) found 67% increase in DM intake of steers. Similarily,
Table 1 Chemical composition of experimental feeds
de Vasconcelos et al. (2016) reported that DM, OM, CP, and
Parameter WHL CM RS NDF intakes were linearly reduced with the replacement of
Tifton-85 hay with WH hay. Aregheore and Cawa (2000) also
DM (% ADM) 92.1 91.6 89.3 reported that more than 25% fresh water hyacinth in the feed
OM (% DM) 88.1 78.8 86.3 reduces intake. Substitution of concentrate mix with 50WHL
CP (% DM) 14.4 24.1 3.9 and 75WHL resulted in higher (P < 0.001) total DM, OM, and
NDF (% DM) 42.0 33.4 69.7 CP intake than 100WHL. Comparable to this result,
ADF (% DM) 28.2 35.8 51.9 Abdelhamid and Gabr (1991) stated that wilted water hyacinth
DM dry matter. ADM air dry matter, CP crude protein, NDF neutral
replaced up to 50% of the concentrates in complete diets, and
detergent fiber, ADF acid detergent fiber, WHL water hyacinth leaf, CM Islam et al. (2009) also reported that 50% wilted water hya-
concentrate mix, RS rice straw cinth supplemented diets resulted in significantly higher CP
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Table 2 Daily feed and nutrient

intake of Washera sheep Intake (g/day) Treatments SEM P value

0WHL 50WHL 75WHL 100WHL

WH DM intake – 116.3 213.5 445.6 0.68

CM DM intake 549.6 384.7 274.5 – 0.63
RS DM intake 228.8b 220.1b 275.1a 281.8a 1.2 < .0001
Total DM intake 787.6a 763.4ab 723.1b 687.4c 1.6 < .0001
DM intake (% BW) 3.3a 3ab 2.8b 2.4c 0.4 < .0001
DM intake (g/kg W0.75) 64.4a 53.5ab 44.3b 34.6c 1.0 < .0001
Total OM intake 661.6a 641.3ab 607.4b 577.4c 2.6 < .0001
Total CP intake 86.6a 84.0ab 79.5b 68.7c 1.4 < .0001
Total NDF intake 378.0a 366.4ab 347.1b 302.5c 0.8 < .0001

a, b, c means within a row having different superscripts are significantly different at *** = (P < 0.001); 0WHL =
100% CM; 75WHL = 75% WHL + 25% CM; 50WHL = 50% WHL + 50% CM and 100WHL = 100% WHL
WH water hyacinth, CM concentrate mix, RS rice straw, DM dry matter, BW body weight, OM organic matter, CP
crude protein, NDF neutral detergent fiber, SEM standard error mean

consumption. In the other way, Dolberg et al. (1981) reported water hyacinth, not only promoted egg laying rate but also
that the addition of an oil cake (220 g/day) to water hyacinth increased the level of feed digestion and feed utilization rate.
mixed with straw increased DM intake to 109% over the con-
trol group (water hyacinth alone). The higher total DM intake
per metabolic body weight (P < 0.001) was for 0WHL, Body weight changes and feed conversation
50WHL, and 75WHL which could be attributed to variations efficiency (FCE)
in CP content of the supplements especially water hyacinth.
The lowest average daily gain recorded in animals supple-
mented with 100WHL (Table 4). This might be due to the
Apparent digestibility of DM and nutrients low intake of water hyacinth leaves (Table 2) which could
be associated with its high nutrient detergent fiber content
There were significant effects of WHL inclusion level on DM, (Table 1). Mohapatra (2015) reported that utilization of WH
OM, CP, and NDF digestibility, all of which decreased when meal as partial fish protein replacement in the diet of Cyprinus
the level of water hyacinth increased. And yet, values for carpio fry at different levels (0, 10, 20, and 30%) results in
digestibility were substantially higher than values reported growth performance decreases as the level of WH increased. It
for forages available around Lake Tana (Shenkute et al. is also reported that when grass crop (Ctenopharyngodon
2012). Thus, the inclusion of 75WHL and 50WHL with idella) were fed diets containing from 0 to 100% water hya-
concentrate proportion supports the potential feed resources cinth meal, weight gain and protein efficiency ratio decreased
in Eastern Africa like rice straw. Dada (2002) reported the as the amount of water hyacinth meal increased (Rezania et al.
utilization of sundried E. crassipes by growing goats at up to 2015). However, Kivaisi and Mtila (1995) reported that
40% dietary level of inclusion. As indicated by Jianbo et al. adding water hyacinth to the diet increased egg weight and
(2008) and Lu et al. (2008), feeding egg-laying ducks with consequently increased the eggshell weight.

Table 3 Apparent digestibility

coefficients of nutrients of Digestibility Treatments SEM P value
experimental diets
0WHL 50WHL 75WHL 100WHL

DM 78.6a 72.8ab 69.6b 59.6c 2.10 < .0001

a
OM 75.8 73.2ab 71.9b 63.4c 1.14 < .0001
CP 86.2a 79.2ab 70.2b 58.4c 1.56 < .0001
NDF 76.8a 71.8bab 69b 64.4c 1.98 < .0001

a, b, c means within a row not bearing a common superscript letter are significantly different; *** = (P < 0.001);
0WHL = 100% CM; 75WHL = 75% WHL + 25% CM; 50WHL = 50% WHL + 50% CM and 100WHL = 100%
WHL
CP crude protein, DM dry matter, NDF neutral detergent fiber, OM organic matter, SEM standard error of mean
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Table 4 Body weight parameters

and feed conversion efficiency BW parameters Treatments SEM P value

0WHL 50WHL 75WHL 100WHL

Initial BW (kg) 24.2 23.88 23.22 23.92 0.17 Ns

Final BW (kg) 32.8a 30.1ab 28.0b 25.26c 0.36 < .0001
ADG (g/day) 96.3a 69.1b 53.6b 14.9c 4.27 < .0001
FCE 0.12a 0.10 ab 0.08b 0.03c 0.02 < .0001

a, b, c means in the same row having different superscripts are significantly different; ***(P < 0.001); 0WHL =
100% CM; 75WHL = 75% WHL + 25% CM; 50WHL = 50% WHL + 50% CM and 100WHL = 100% WHL
BW body weight, ADG average daily body weight gain, SEM standard error of mean

There is higher weight gain and feed conversion efficiency water hyacinth leaf protein concentration is nutritious and
in 50WHL and 75WHL than 100WHL. Islam et al. (2009) acutely nontoxic. Dada (2002) also reported that utilization
reported that wilted water hyacinth supplementation signifi- of sundried E. crassipes by growing goats at up to 40% dietary
cantly improved the protein conversion efficiency of growing level of inclusion is beneficiary. In addition, Malik et al.
bullocks. The water hyacinth leaf protein concentrate com- (2016) explained that water hyacinth does not contain
bined with other feeds has been reported to be a good quality antinutritional factors to a level that can inhibit the perfor-
protein source for animal feed formulation (Adeyemi and mance of pullet chicks; hence, it can be included up to 15%
Osubor 2016). in the diets of pullet chicks (as a replacement for 75% wheat
offal) without any detrimental effects on their carcass charac-
teristics as well as on their hematological and biochemical
Toxicity and heavy metal content of water hyacinth
profile.
The heavy metal analysis result revealed that most heavy
metals are present in the water hyacinth leaves such as
copper, nickel, zinc iron, chromium, lead, arsenic, mercu-
Conclusions
ry, and cadmium except calcium which exceeded the de-
tection limit. The bioaccumulation factor for water hya-
Water hyacinth leaves have relatively high CP content and
cinth leaves was found maximum for magnesium
could provide nutrients year-round to be utilized as fodder
(9642.09 μg/g), arsenic (463.25 μg/g), chromium
for ruminant because massive amounts of water hyacinth al-
(70.20 μg/g), copper (41.98 μg/g), and lead (17.18 μg/
ready exist in Lake Tana. Although wilted WH reduced the
g) in dry wt. These values are in the range of the accepted
intake and digestibility of some nutrients, its concentrate re-
levels. Wu et al. (2014) reported that the concentrations of
placement could be economically advantageous for sheep
common toxic metals including cadmium, lead, platinum,
feeding in areas with great availability of this aquatic plant.
palladium, tin, mercury, barium, silver, stibium, and alu-
Wilted water hyacinth leaves can safely substitute concentrate
minum in the water hyacinth leaf powder (WHLP) used
mix up to 75% and result in the optimum growth of Washera
for the animal feeding test were within their maximum
sheep. Thus, it can be concluded that wilted water hyacinth
limits in food additives as stated by the World Health
leaves can be used for protein supplementation for rice straw-
Organization. The authors also proved that the WHLP
based diet in the dry season.
used for the animal feeding test were not acutely toxic.
Thus, the level of all heavy metals found in this study was Acknowledgements The first author would like to thank UNESCO/
within safe limit (Victor et al. 2016). JAPAN Young Researcher Fellowship Award Program for 2015,
In this experiment, toxicity in sheep fed on water hyacinth France, Paris, for the financial support of this research work. I also would
leaves with rice straw was not detected except their loss of live like to thank the Arid Land Research Center Tottori University in Japan
for hosting this research (particularly for Prof. Atsushi Tsunekawa). I
weight and only one animal (among animals supplemented want to extend my gratitude to the Department of Regional
with 100% WHL) suffered from serious illness. According Environment (Prof. Sawako Horai) Tottori University for water hyacinth
to the veterinarian diagnosis report, it is difficult to relate the heavy metal analysis and Shimane University for analysis of chemical
illness with the toxicity of water hyacinth because the other composition. Thanks also to Bahir Dar University which allowed usage
of the experimental house. Great thanks to the Andassa Livestock
animals in the treatment group did not show such symptom. Research Center and Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute
Mahmoud et al. (1979) reported that Sudan sheep fed water (ARARI) for giving the leaves to be studied for this research work.
hyacinth leaves did not show any clinical or pathological Lastly, I want to acknowledge Mr. Gezu Sendek and Melkamu for
changes. Similarly, Adeyemi and Osubor (2016) reported that supporting me in the water hyacinth and data collection, respectively.
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