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Ashraf Alkhtib

Research Fellow

School of Animal Rural & Environmental Sciences

Role

Dr Ashraf Alkhtib is a member of Poultry Research Unit managed by Prof Emily Burton. Dr Ashraf is conducting a mixture of teaching and research in animal nutrition.

Career overview

  • Dr Ashraf Alkhtib obtained a BSc in Agricultural sciences (ruminant production), MSc of animal nutrition (ruminant nutrition) and PhD in animal nutrition.
  • He worked for 8 years as a research assistant in the general commission of agricultural research, Syria with main focus on utilisation of agricultural by-products as animal feed.
  • Dr Ashraf joined ICARDA (Ethiopia office) as a post-graduate Researcher for 4 years (2014-2018).

Research areas

Dr Ashraf research primarily focuses on:

  • Utilisation of non-conventional feedstuffs in animal nutrition.
  • Feed evaluation using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy.
  • Food-feed crops for mixed farming systems.
  • Animal nutrition in mixed farming systems and dry areas of developing countries.
  • Additives in poultry nutrition.

Publications

Articles

  1. Alkhtib A, Burton E, Scoley D, Bentley J, Wilson P. 2022.  Effect of life cycle inventory choices and nutritional variation on carbon footprint of broiler meat production Journal of Cleaner Production, 383: (accepted)
  2. Abelti A, Teka T, Forsedo S F, Tamiru M, Bultosa G, Alkhtib A, Burton E. 2022. Bio-based smart materials for fish product packaging: a review. International Journal of Food Properties, 25: 857-871
  3. Keno M, Tolemariam T, Demeke T, Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Janssens G. 2021. Food-fodder performance of food and malt barley cultivars in Ethiopian highlands. African Journal of Agricultural  Research (accepted)
  4. Alemu T, Wamatu J, Tolera A, Beyan M, Eshete M, Alkhtib A, Rischkowsky, B. 2021.  Optimizing Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy to Predict Nutritional Quality of Chickpea Straw for Livestock Feeding. Animals (accepted)
  5. Burton E, Scholey D, Alkhtib A, Williams P. 2021. Use of an ethanol bio-refinery product as a soybean alternative in diets for fast-growing meat production species. Sustainability (Accepted) https://doi.org/10.3390/ su131911019
  6. 1.Alkhtib A., Sanni C., Burton E., Scholey D. 2021. What is ‘normal’? Morphology and mineralization of tibias from healthy, on farm broilers. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 10.1016/j.japr.2021.100190
  7. Keno M., Wamatu J., Alkhtib A., Tolemariam T., Demeke S., Janssens G. P. 2021. Barley straw use for animal feed and soil mulch in Ethiopian highlands mixed crop-livestock systems. Sustainability, in press
  8. Tamiru B., Alkhtib A., Tamiru M., Demeke S., Burton E., Tolemariam T., Debela L., Janssens G. 2021. Evaluation of dried papaya pomace meal in laying hen diets. Veterinary Medicine and Science, in press.
  9. Wamatu J, Alkhtib A. 2021. Feasibility of heart girth models in estimating live weight of fat\-long\-tailed sheep, Veterinary Medicine and Science, in press. DOI: 10.1002/vms3.476
  10. Alkhtib A, Almasri O, Burton E, Wamatu J. 2021. Eye-balling and heart girth models for live weight estimation of highly admixed Sudani shorthorn Zebu cattle for precise production and veterinary services, Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, in press.
  11. Alkhtib A, Muna M, Burton E, Wamatu J, Darag M, Alkhaled E, Al‐asa’ad Z, Almoufachi H, Zaeowd R. 2020. Effect of olive tree leaves and twigs on intake, digestibility, growth performance and blood variables of Shami goats, Veterinary Medicine and Science, https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.419
  12. Alkhtib A, Scholey D, Carter N, Cave G, Hanafy B, Kempster B, Mekapothula S, Roxborough E, Burton E. 2020. Bioavailability of methionine-coated zinc nanoparticles as a dietary supplement leads to improved performance and bone strength in broiler chicken production, Animals. doi:10.3390/ani10091482
  13. Tamiru M, Ashagrie S, Alkhtib A, Getachewa M, Demeke S, Hassen W, Worku Z, Burton E. 2020. Performance of broilers and layers supplemented with Moringa stenopetala leaf meal under hot humid tropical conditions (in press)
  14. Alhanafi F, Kaysi Y, Muna M, Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Burton E. 2019. Spineless cactus (Opuntia Ficus-Indica) and saltbush (Atriplex Halimus L) as feed supplements for fattening Awassi male lambs: Effect on digestibility, water consumption, blood metabolites and growth performance. Tropical Animal Health and Production, in press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-019-01858-6
  15. Wamatu J, Alkhtib A, Barbara Rischkowsky B. 2019. Simple and robust model to estimate live weight of Ethiopian Menz sheep. Animal Production Science. In press
  16. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Walde-Giorgis Gardi M. 2019. Leveraging traditional crops for food and feed: a case of naked barley (Hordeum vulgare) landraces in Ethiopia. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 1:42–50. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2019.7(1).42.50
  17. Alkhtib A, Burton E, Rischkowsky B, Wamatu J. 2019. Can ruminant metabolizable energy of barley, chickpea and lentil straw be predicted using chemical composition. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 1: 74–85. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2019.7(1).74.85
  18. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Ejeta T, Rischkowsky B. 2018. Genetic variability in food and feed traits of early maturing desi chickpea (Cicer Arietinum) for multi-dimensional improvement. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 18: 389–398. DOI: 10.5958/0974-181X.2018.00036.7
  19. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Ejeta T, Rischkowsky, B. 2018. Improving the nutritive value of cereal and pulse straws using dung ash and wood ash treatments. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 18: 153—162. DOI: 10.5958/0974-181X.2018.00015.X
  20. Wamatu J, Alemu T, Tolera T, Beyan M, Alkhtib A, Eshete M, Ahmed S, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Selecting for food-feed traits in desi and kabuli genotypes of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 5: 852–860. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2017.5(6).852.860.
  21. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Kaysi Y, Mona M, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Pistachio (Pistacia vera) by-products as ruminant feed: a review of production, management and utilization in arid and semi-arid areas in the middle east. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 5: 718–729. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2017.5(6).718.729
  22. Wamatu J, Mersha A, Tolera A, Beyan M, Alkhtib A, Eshete M, Ahmed S, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Selecting for food-feed traits in early and late maturing lentil genotypes (Lens culinaris). Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 5: 697–705. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2017.5(5).697.705
  23. Wamatu J, Louhaichi M, Rubanza C, Alkhtib A, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for Atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean Rangelands. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 5: S76–S85.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2017.5(Spl-1-SAFSAW).S76.S85
  24. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Ejeta T, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Integrating the straw yield and quality into multi-dimensional improvement of lentil (Lens culinaris). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 97: 4135–4141. DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8282
  25. Wamatu J, Alkhtib A, Abate D, Kemal S, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Nutritive value of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) straw as influenced by variety, season, botanical fractions and urea pretreatment. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 225: 54–61.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2017.01.003
  26. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Kassie G, Rischkowsky B. 2016. Analysis of crop residue use in small holder mixed farms in Ethiopia.  Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 32: 454–462. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170516000399
  27. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Wegi T, Rischkowsky B. 2016. Variation in the straw traits of morphological fractions of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and implications for selecting for food-feed varieties. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 222: 122–131.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2016.10.006
  28. Albakkor Y, Alkhtib A. 2010. Effect of using olive trees pruning residues on fattening criteria of Awassi lambs. Research Journal of Aleppo University (ISSN 2227-9229), 81: 273–281. www.alepuniv.edu.sy/sites/default/files/journal_issues/English_11.pdf

Conferences

  1. M. Naeem, Burton E, Bedford M, Azhar M, Scholey D, Alkhtib A. 2022. Effect of pelleting process on particle size of commercial poultry feeds. WPSA 2022, Nottingham, UK.
  2. Tamiru M, Edjigu S, Alkhtib A, Burton E, Demeke S, Tolemariam T, Janssens G. 2022. The effect of papaya seed and neem leaf meal on performance and health of layer chicken. WPSA 2022, Nottingham, UK.
  3. Alkhtib A, Sanni C, Burton E, Scholey D. 2022. Evaluating different bone processing methods used in assessing mineralisation in broilers. WPSA 2022, Nottingham, UK.
  4. Keno M, Wamatu J, Alkhtib A, Tolemariam T, Solomon Demeke S, Janssens G. 2021. Perception of farmers and on-farm evaluation of yield and nutritive value of barley straw. European Society of Veterinary and comparative nutrition, Portugal.
  5. Keno M, Wamatu J, Alkhtib A, Tolemariam T, Solomon Demeke S, Janssens G. 2021. Effect of barley straw variety on feed intake, digestibility, body weight gain and carcass characteristics of Horro sheep, Portugal
  6. Alkhtib A., Sanni C., Burton E., Scholey D. 2021. What is ‘normal’? Morphology and mineralisation of tibias from healthy, on farm broilers. WPSA, the UK.
    2.Naeem M., Burton E., Scholey D., Alkhtib A., Broadberry S. 2021. Effect of main cereal particle size in mash feed on performance and gut organs in broilers. WPSA, the UK.
  7. Alkhtib A., Muna M, Burton E, Wamatu J, Asaa’ad Z, Daraj M, Alkhalid I, Mofshi H, Zayod R. 2020. Effect of olive tree pruning by-products on intake, digestibility, growth performance and blood parameters of Shami goats. BSAS, Nottingham, the UK.
  8. Wamatu J, Alkhtib A. 2019. The comparison of models of using chest girth to estimate live weight of Adilo, Horro and Bonga sheep in Ethiopia. BSAS, Edinburgh, the UK.
  9. Wamatu J, Mersha A, Alkhtib A, Eshete M, Kemal S, Tolera A, Beyan M, Rischkowsky B. 2016. Cultivar-dependent variation in lentil (Lens culinaris L.) and implications for selecting food-feed varieties. International Conference on Pulses, Marrakesh, Morocco, 18-20 April, 2016. p. 158-159 (poster)
  10. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Wegi T, Rischkowsky B. 2016. Variation in the straw traits of morphological fractions of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and implications for selecting for food-feed varieties. International Conference on Pulses, Marrakesh, Morocco, 18-20 April, 2016. p. 159 (poster).
  11. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Kassie G, Rischkowsky B. 2016. Determinants of farmers’ decision on utilizing cereal and legume residue as feed and soil mulch in the Ethiopian highlands. International Conference on Pulses, Marrakesh, Morocco, 18-20 April, 2016. p. 175-176 (poster).
  12. Kiflay S, Wamatu J, Mekuriaw Y, Animut G, Alkhtib A, Rischkowsky, B., 2016. Participation of female-headed households in sheep fattening in Ethiopia. Tropentag 2016.
  13. Asmare B, Wamatu J, Alkhtib A, Rischkowsky B, Demeke S, Ejeta T, Tegegne F. 2015. Determinants of the utilization of Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) for multiple-purposes in Ethiopia. XXIII International Grassland Congress, IGC 2015, New Delhi, India, 20-24 November 2015 (poster).
  14. Alkhtib A, Kaysi Y, Muna M, Wamatu J. 2014. Status, challenges and opportunities for sustainable utilization of pulse crop residues in Ethiopia. Tropentag 2014, Prague, Czech Republic, 17 – 19, September 2014 (poster).
  15. Alkhtib A, Ankoz O, Sharbai S, Karkotli M. 2008. Effect of replacement of corn by dried sugar beet pulp on fattening performance of Awassi lambs. Conference on the Animal Wealth, Aleppo, Syria, 17-20 October, 2008.

Others

  1. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Burton E. 2020.Least Cost Ration Formulation Tool for Sheep (http://54.229.19.198:8080/handle/20.500.11766/10787)
  2. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Urea treatment to improve the nutritive value of crop residues, a brief (https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/80982)
  3. Alkhtib A, Wamatu J, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Pulse crops with food-feed traits to support livestock productivity, a brief (https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/80983)
  4. Wamatu J, Alkhtib A, Alemu T, Mersha A, Wegi T, Kemal S, Rischkowsky B. 2017. Feeds and Forage Development: Africa RISING science, innovations and technologies with scaling potential from the Ethiopian Highlands, a brief (https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/80068

Prizes

  1. The industrial prize of British Society of Animal Science (Nottingham, UK 2020)
  2. The second-best poster presented in International Conference of Pulses (Marrakesh, Morocco, April 2016

Students

1- Muluigeta Telahun (PhD-2022): Optimising the use of barley straw in tropical ruminant diets _Ghent University.

2- Metekia Tamiru (PhD): Evaluation of neem leaf meal against heat stress in broilers and layers under hot humid tropics_Ghent University.

3-Abdo Rijal (Msc): Effect of Termite Mounds on Forage Species Composition, Biomass Yield and Nutritional Quality in selected districts of Jimma Zone, Ethiopia _Jimma University.

4-Zemee Worku (PhD): Potential of variety, diversity (mixed cultivation) and biochar treatment of soil on drought resistance and resilience, yield and nutritive value of Brachiaria grass_Jimma University.

5-Etagegnehu Bzuneh (Msc-2019): Evaluation of nutritive value and farmer preference of chickpea varieties for food-feed traits _

Debre Berhan University

6-Abudurasak Badina (PhD): Reducing carbon footprint of poultry meat production by improving nutrient utilization _NTU

6-Nourhan Abdelaal (PhD): Effect of feeding of black soldier fly larvae on theintestinal microbiota of broiler chickens _NTU

See all of Ashraf Alkhtib's publications...