Bibliometric analysis of management practices in US corn (1990-2020)

Bibliometric analysis explores large volume of scientific data, revealing trends and insights in a specific research field. Consistently, a bibliometric analysis of 30 years (1990-2020) was performed within the US corn (Zea mays L.) production using the Scopus database and VOSviewer. Search query was performed within the article title, abstract, and keywords indicative of management practices in corn. Exclusion criterion based on subject area and journals generated a total of 7468 publications. The data analysis revealed contributions from 7327 authors and 47 organizations documented in 69 journals. The top five organizations leading the investigation were United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Iowa State University, University of Nebraska, University of Illinois, and Purdue University. The most prolific authors were Dr. Rattan Lal (Ohio State University, Columbus, OH), Dr. Douglas L. Karlen (USDA-ARS, Ames, IA), Dr. Kenneth G. Cassman (University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE), Dr. Lajpat Rai Ahuja (USDA-ARS, Ft. Collins, CO), and Dr. John Walsh Doran (USDA-ARS, Lincoln, NE). Journals with most publications were Agronomy Journal; Soil Science Society of America Journal; Soil and Tillage Research; Crop Science; and Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. Furthermore, author keywords differed from queried keywords, and no-till, nitrogen, cover crop, soybean, irrigation, phosphorus, conservation tillage, yield, and water quality were most prominent. Moreover, there was an evident shift in keywords and an observed trend between 1998 and 2020. Overall, these findings allow researchers to explore network maps via the hyperlinks present in papers, identifying research gaps and advancing original studies to bridge gaps in the literature. There has been a consistent increase in corn research in last 30 years. United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) was the top funding sponsor and leading investigator. Queried keywords differed from author keywords, and a trend was observed in their use. The top journal with most publications on corn production was Agronomy Journal.