by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
On April 18, 2022, Research.com released the 1st edition of the annual ranking for top scientists in the area of plant science and agronomy science. This list of leading scholars is designed to offer the academic community more visibility and exposure to the influential research contributions made by those at the forefront of plant and agronomy science.
What is more, we hope it will inspire researchers, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs around the world to find out where leading experts are heading. It is a great opportunity for all of us to learn who are the leading experts in different research areas, in different countries, as well as within different universities and research institutions.
For the 2022 edition of the ranking, more than 2,500 scientist profiles on Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph have been examined with several indicators and metrics reviewed in order to consider each scientist’s inclusion in the ranking.
The h-index threshold for approving a scholar to be considered was set to 30 if most of their publications were in the field of plant and agronomy science. The inclusion criteria for scholars to be considered into the ranking of top scientists are based on the discipline h-index, the proportion of contributions made within the given discipline in addition to the awards and achievements of the scientists.
The full ranking for the 2022 list of top plant & agronomy scientists can be found here:
TOP PLANT & AGRONOMY SCIENTISTS RANKING
Scientists from the United States dominate the list with 268 scholars included in 2022 which represents 26.8% of the whole ranking. However, only 2 out of 10 scientists in the top 1% are from the United States.
Australia ranks second with 98 scientists.
The third spot was taken by the United Kingdom, which currently has 88 ranking scientists.
The other leading countries are Germany with 60 scientists, Canada with 53 scientists, China with 51 scientists, Spain with 49 scientists, and France with 35 scholars.
Please note that the country associated with a scientist is based on their affiliated research institution according to MAG, not on their actual nationality.
In the 2022 edition of our ranking, the US Agricultural Research Service is the leader, with 28 scientists affiliated with that institution included in the ranking. Ranking second is the University of California, Davis with 25 scientists, and the third place is occupied by the University of Western Australia with 23 scholars.
American universities constitute only 20% of the top 10 leading institutions with the other ones representing Australia, Spain, China, Canada, Netherlands, and Sweden.
Only 2 out of 10 institutions affiliated with the top 1% of leading scientists are based in the USA. The other top spots are occupied by scientists from the Australian National University (1st spot), Utrecht University (3rd spot), Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (4th spot), and Rothamsted Research (6th spot).
Institutions that offer online delivery of various types of college degrees are contributing to the advancement of research. Specifically, in the field of agronomy, students work closely with agronomy professors and participate in agronomy research including crop and biotechnology genetics, sustainable cropping practices, and crop management and protection.
Professors who are national and international leaders in their research areas provide field and laboratory experiences that complement online collaborations, strengthening the research skills of students in the process. As global food consumption increases, food security becomes one major concern. Plant and agriculture scientists will play a major role in ensuring that countries will have sufficient food sources. Worryingly, for example, Economic Research Service (ERS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers found that food-insecure people in 2022 reached 1.3 billion.
Agronomy graduates take on biotechnology careers that open opportunities for them to participate in research on agroecology, genetics and translational genomics, and plant breeding. Through online universities that offer these learning experiences to students, interest in research towards advancing knowledge in the field is continually enhanced. Plant and agronomy scientists provide online learning platforms such as those offered by the American Society of Agronomy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that there will be at least 4,100 job openings for agricultural and food scientists from 2021-2031.
For Oceania, Professor Graham D. Farquhar from Australian National University is on top of the list with a world ranking of no. 1 as well. His h-index is 123.
For North America, Professor Rattan Lal, from The Ohio State University ranks 1st on our list of leading scientists in that region with a high H-index of 122. He’s also listed as no. 2 in the world ranking.
For Europe, Professor Pedro W. Crous from the Utrecht University, Netherlands is ranked first in the region, with an H-index of 121. He’s also listed as no. 3 in the world ranking.
Professor Fusuo Zhang from the China Agricultural University leads the top list in Asia with a world ranking of 7 as well.
Professor Michael J. Wingfield who is affiliated with the University of Pretoria, South Africa is the first in Africa with a world ranking of 23.
Professor Klaus Winter from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama is the highest-ranking scientist from South America with a world ranking of 58.
The average H-index for the top 1% of scientists is 116 against an average of 56 for all 1000 scientists included in the ranking.
The scholar with the lowest index value who made it to the ranking in 2022 has an H-index of 40.
The average number of published articles for the top 1% of scientists in the ranking is 453 against an average of 152 for all 1000 scholars.
The average number of citations for the top 1% of scientists is 52,426 against an average of 12,603 for all 1000 scholars. The highest cited scientist is Graham D. Farquhar from Australian National University with 78,633 citations.
You can learn more about the methodology used to create the ranking here.
All research was coordinated by Imed Bouchrika, PhD, a computer scientist with a well-established record of collaboration on a number of international research projects with different partners from the academic community. His role was to make sure all data remained unbiased, accurate, and up-to-date.
Research.com is the number one research portal for science rankings. Our mission is to make it easier for professors, research fellows, and those studying for a PhD or a master’s degree to progress with their research and to ensure they are always up-to-date with the latest conferences around the world and publications related to their work. Research.com is also involved in the publication of an annual ranking of leading scientists in a wide range of scientific disciplines.
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
