Revista Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua (TyCA) del Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA)

Zinc (Zn) deficiency in crops is a global issue, particularly in plants grown in calcareous soils, where Zn is often adsorbed or precipitated by calcium carbonates. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify, through bibliometric analysis, the scientific production related to Zn deficiency in calcareous soils over the last 36 years (1989–2024). A total of 374 documents were retrieved through a search on the Web of Science (WOS) platform, specifically in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) databases. Of these, only 198 articles were directly relevant to the topic and were used for the analysis. Unidimensional and multidimensional bibliometric indicators were evaluated using Excel and VOSviewer software. The results confirm that the number of articles has increased in recent years. The most influential authors, journals, articles, institutions, and countries in this research area were identified. In addition, collaboration networks between authors and countries, as well as the predominant research topics, were determined. This study provides a comprehensive overview of this field on a global scale and serves as a useful reference for scientists interested in conducting future research on related topics.

To identify production and trends on publications of cactus pear from 1900 to 2015 at aninternational level, a review of qualitatively and quantitatively indexed bibliographicrecords from Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Citation Index(SCIE) was conducted. The analyses included the concepts or key words ‘opuntia’ as wellas the common names of cactus pear and its variants. It was found that there were 1,472documents regarding cactus pear, from which 50% were published during the last tenyears, and more than 81% after 1990; these data show the relevance and dynamism ofcactus pear research during the last years. The most indexed type of document was thearticle with 86.1%. The preferred language of publication was English with 92.7%. TheInstitutions with more indexed documents were the university system of the University ofCalifornia and the National Autonomous University of Mexico with 99 (6.7%) and 84(5.7%) respectively. The Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development(JPACD) had the highest number of scientific articles (92). The impact factor (IF) ofJPACD is 0.22, and is ranked 30 among 33 in the “Horticulture” category of the Journal ofCitation Reports (JCR). Plant Physiology the journal with the highest IF (6.28) published29 of the indexed documents. The main research areas where scientists publishaccording to SCIE and SCCI are: Plant Sciences, Food Science Technology,Environmental Sciences, Horticulture, Ecology, Applied Chemistry, and Biochemistry andMolecular Biology. Mexico and the United States published 50% of all production, butTunisia, Brazil, France and South Korea had an important number of contributions onOpuntia. The main native English authors speaking with more published documents inmainstream journals are Nobel and Felker, while Saenz and Murillo-Amador are the mainnative Spanish speaking authors. The trending research in the last ten years are thefunctional properties and biological activity of active ingredients on Opuntia. The identifiedtrends would allow setting strategies, synergies and scientific and technologic policies forresearch and decision making in those countries where the species is considered asimportant.

Opuntia ficus-indica has always interacted with many phytophagous insects; two of them are Dactylopius coccus and D. opuntiae. Fine cochineal (D. coccus) is produced to extract carminic acid, and D. opuntiae, or wild cochineal, is an invasive pest of O. ficus-indica in more than 20 countries around the world. Despite the economic and environmental relevance of this cactus, D. opuntiae, and D. coccus, there are few studies that have explored volatile organic compounds (VOCs) derived from the plant–insect interaction. The aim of this work was to determine the VOCs produced by D. coccus and D. opuntiae and to identify different VOCs in cladodes infested by each Dactylopius species. The VOCs (essential oils) were obtained by hydrodistillation and identified by GC-MS. A total of 66 VOCs from both Dactylopius species were identified, and 125 from the Esmeralda and Rojo Pelón cultivars infested by D. coccus and D. opuntiae, respectively, were determined. Differential VOC production due to infestation by each Dactylopius species was also found. Some changes in methyl salicylate, terpenes such as linalool, or the alcohol p-vinylguaiacol were related to Dactylopius feeding on the cladodes of their respective cultivars. Changes in these VOCs and their probable role in plant defense mechanisms should receive more attention because this knowledge could improve D. coccus rearing or its inclusion in breeding programs for D. opuntiae control in regions where it is a key pest of O. ficus-indica.

The objective of this article is to identify the growth, control tactics, collaboration among authors, and emerging trends in scientific research related to the control strategies of Dactylopius opuntiae Cockerell (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) through bibliometric indicators. In order to recover the relevant academic articles on the topic, six referential databases were consulted. The keyword used to retrieve bibliographic information was «Dactylopius opuntiae» in the search fields: title, abstract and keywords. 1 212 bibliographic records were obtained, which were sent to the Zotero software, and subsequently reviewed to discard repeated records unrelated to the topic, obtaining only 99 from 1848 to 2022. These records resulted in four bibliometric indicators using Excel and VOSviewer. The dynamic of scientific production has been more evident during the last seven years. Biological control, through predators and entomopathogens, was the most studied emergent research theme. From 1848 to 2000, only 12 documents of scientific production about D. opuntiae control tactics were found; production has been increasing by a greater proportion from 2016 up to 2022. The most outstanding control tactics were focused on biological control and non-conventional chemical control using various products such as oils, plant extracts, soaps, and detergents. Finally, the most frequently mentioned research topic was «biological control». Among other conclusions, the most researched topics were biological control agents (predators and entomopathogens) and plant resistance, which stood out as the tactic that could be most sustainable.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a reproductive biotechnology with great potential in the reproduction of different species of zootechnical interest, including sheep. This study aimed to carry out a bibliometric analysis of scientific papers published on the application of SCNT in sheep reproduction during the period 1997–2023. The search involved the Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index databases of the main collection of the Web of Sciences with different descriptors. A total of 124 scientific papers were analyzed for different bibliometric indicators using the VOSviewer software. Since 2001, the number of SCNT-related papers that have been published concerning sheep reproduction has increased and it has fluctuated in ensuing years. The main authors, research groups, institutions, countries, papers, and journals with the highest number of papers related to the application of SCNT in sheep reproduction were identified, as well as the topics that address the research papers according to the terms: somatic cell, embryo, oocyte, gene expression, SCNT, and sheep.