Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
Topic · Agronomy and Crop Science

Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems

Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems is a research topic within Agronomy and Crop Science. Science Explorer counts 31k research works in it since 1950. 10.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the practice of intercropping, where two or more crops are cultivated together in the same space, and its impact on agricultural productivity, soil nutrient management, crop diversity, and sustainability. The research emphasizes the role of rhizosphere interactions, nitrogen fixation, and resource use efficiency in enhancing crop yield stability and promoting agroecological practices.

  • Intercropping
  • Agricultural Productivity
  • Soil Nutrient Management
  • Crop Diversity
  • Sustainable Agriculture
  • Rhizosphere Interactions
  • Nitrogen Fixation
  • Resource Use Efficiency
  • Crop Yield Stability
  • Agroecological Practices
Research works
31k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
3.1k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+17%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
India
30% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems

Which countries lead Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems research?

By volume, India and China publish the most (1.3k and 1.1k works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 India 1.3k works
  2. 2 China 1.1k works
  3. 3 United States 551 works
  4. 4 Brazil 324 works
  5. 5 Ethiopia 214 works
  6. 6 Egypt 199 works
  7. 7 Indonesia 184 works
  8. 8 Nigeria 176 works
  9. 9 Türkiye 155 works
  10. 10 France 151 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

India: 29.7%China: 25.3%United States: 12.7%Brazil: 7.5%6 others listed: 24.8%30%largest
India1,289 · 29.7%China1,096 · 25.3%United States551 · 12.7%Brazil324 · 7.5%6 others listed1,077 · 24.8%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems research?

By volume in 2022-now, Indian Council of Agricultural Research publishes the most Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems research, followed by Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Indian Council of Agricultural ResearchIndia 215 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChina 153 works
  3. 3 Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural ResearchEthiopia 83 works
  4. 4 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 73 works
  5. 5 Agricultural Research CenterEgypt 63 works
  6. 6 Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityIndia 60 works
  7. 7 Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'EnvironnementFrance 59 works
  8. 8 Sam Higginbottom Institute of AgricultureIndia 55 works
  9. 9 United States Department of AgricultureUnited States 47 works
  10. 10 China Agricultural UniversityChina 42 works

Who are the leading researchers in Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems include Rob Knight, Philippe Ciais and Dennis W. Dickson.

  1. 1 Rob Knight United States 468k citations
  2. 2 Philippe Ciais France 237k citations
  3. 3 Dennis W. Dickson United States 237k citations
  4. 4 David Tilman United States 209k citations
  5. 5 Ejaz Ahmad Khan United States 190k citations
  6. 6 Peter B. Reich United States 189k citations
  7. 7 F. Stuart Chapin United States 185k citations
  8. 8 Willem M. de Vos Netherlands 165k citations
  9. 9 Pamela S. Soltis United States 165k citations
  10. 10 Josep Peñuelas Spain 160k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems?

The most cited paper in Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems is "Plant Ecological Strategies: Some Leading Dimensions of Variation Between Species" (Mark Westoby, Daniel Stein Falster, Angela T. Moles et al., 2002), with 3,129 citations. Next come "Stage of Development Descriptions for Soybeans, Glycine Max (L.) Merrill 1" (2,952) and "The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems" (2,522).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Plant Ecological Strategies: Some Leading Dimensions of Variation Between Species Mark Westoby, Daniel Stein Falster, Angela T. Moles et al. · Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics Nov 2002 3,129
2 Stage of Development Descriptions for Soybeans, Glycine Max (L.) Merrill 1 Walter Ronald Fehr, C. E. Caviness, Dwayne Thomas Burmood et al. · Crop Science Nov 1971 2,952
3 The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems Miguel Angel Altieri · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment Jun 1999 2,522
4 Fundamentals of Soil Behavior Joe Michael Bradford · Soil Science Society of America Journal Jul 1976 2,086
5 Global inputs of biological nitrogen fixation in agricultural systems DAVID F. HERRIDGE, Mark B. Peoples, Robert M. Boddey · Plant and Soil 10 Jul 2008 1,797
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems research done?

The largest centres of Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Giza (Egypt), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Coimbatore (India). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bikaner.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 226 works
  2. 2 GizaEgypt 96 works
  3. 3 Addis AbabaEthiopia 96 works
  4. 4 CoimbatoreIndia 79 works
  5. 5 New DelhiIndia 78 works
  6. 6 LanzhouChina 63 works
  7. 7 AllahabadIndia 62 works
  8. 8 DhakaBangladesh 54 works
  9. 9 ParisFrance 47 works
  10. 10 TehranIran 45 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BikanerIN · 25.9 works49×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems than the world average.

See Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems on the map

Where is the best place to study Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems?

Among universities, judged by research, Northwest A&F University, Wageningen University & Research and China Agricultural University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 31.95%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Lanzhou UniversityNorthwest A&F Univer…Wageningen Universit…China Agricultural U…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Northwest A&F UniversityChina 81.936.6%16.1×35 +41.4%
2Wageningen University & ResearchNetherlands 76.229.1%11.3×23 +24.8%
3China Agricultural UniversityChina 74.827.7%13.6×42 +55.2%
4Lanzhou UniversityChina 69.538.1%4.7×18 +126.2%
5The University of Western AustraliaAustralia 67.735.4%7.1×17 -0.7%
6Nanjing Agricultural UniversityChina 66.237.3%7.4×16 +34.1%
7Shenyang Agricultural UniversityChina 64.837.5%22.4×16 +290.5%
8Gansu Agricultural UniversityChina 64.528.7%38.5×32 +97.6%
9Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesSweden 62.328.4%18.8×16 +7.2%
10Sichuan Agricultural UniversityChina 61.720.7%21.6×34 +14.4%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems, country by country

Is Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 17% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.031% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems0.027% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems10.8% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems. Posts are plain text and can be reported.