Research tendency on the litchi fruit moth Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley based on bibliometric and Citespace parameters

Abstract：【Objective】Through the analysis of current situation of research on the litchi fruit moth Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley in both China and the world, this paper focused on the present research situation and the process of the C. sinensis, summarized the research trend, features, key and the weakness, focused on hot fields and discussed the related issues, in order to provide some reference for the researchers and relevant government departments in the future.【Methods】This paper gives a comprehensive analysis on both 39 foreign documents of the C. sinensis in Web of Science (SCI-expanded& CABI) between 1983 and 2017 and 115 C. sinensis articles in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) between 1989 and 2017 by the methods of library measurement analysis and statistical methods. It has given a quantitative analysis on article number, citation, countries, authors, institutions, journal sources and research contents, so as to make a valuable addition in author cluster and keyword co-occurrence by CiteSpace V with research hotspot analysis methods based on this research. The options under the CiteSpace V operation are as follows: (a) the time interval of analysis (1983—2017) ; (b) the unit of analysis (4 years) ; (c) top N per slice (50) ; (d) pruning (MST) .【Results】The research showed the output of C. sinensis literature presented a wavy growth year by year in the world, and the article number in China tended to be similar to that of the world after experiencing a rapid growth between2001 and 2011. As of 2017, 115 articles on 55 journals by 78 authors of 58 institutes in China from CNKI were searched, and only 39 articles on 24 journals by 26 authors of 12 institutes in 6 countries, such as China, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Germany, were from Web of Science (SCIexpanded & CABI) . There were relatively few countries to publish the C. sinensis papers, which were obviously related to distribution of the C. sinensis. Statistically, a total of 66 institutions at home and abroad published the literature on the C. sinensis research, which was widely distributed. The top institutions with high academic achievement were South China Agricultural University (SCAU) , Plant Protection Research Institute of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GDPPRI) , Taiwan “Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute (TACTRI) ”, Langat Singh College (Indian) , Shenzhen Polytechnic, Guangxi University and so on. The author group of the C. sinensis research was tak-ing shape. Sofar it has basically formed two major research groups among high productivity authors.One is led by LIANG Guangwen and JIANG Shihong in colleges and universities, and another is headed by CHEN Bingxu in a research institute. However, the team of high productivity authors is not cohesive and stable enough, the number of core authors is fewer and the quality of papers is low. Guangdong Agricultural Sciences, South China Fruits, Plant Protection Bulletin, Journal of South China Agricultural University, Florida Entomologist, Bulletin of Entomological Research, China Plant Protection and Journal of Environmental Entomology were the most active journals in the field. The research contents for the C. sinensis included biological characteristics, management methods and physiology, etc. It mainly focused on the natural enemy research, the isolation of symbiotic bacteria in the C. sinensis, the pest-plant interaction and insect olfactory mechanism in the world. In China, the largest number of studies focused on its occurrence and control, but the literature publication presented a discrete state with lower degree of concentration. The current research hotpots on C. sinensis were life table, prediction and management, host plant and oviposit selectivity, sex pheromone, ultrastructure, and control of natural enemies.【Conclusion】The C. sinensis research in China occupies an absolute superiority in the world. Research institutions cluster in main growing regions of litchi and longan, research authors are plenty and the research content is plentiful. However, the author group of the C. sinensis research still lacks the scientific research team who can keep the long-term stability and in-depth study. The core authors with higher academic achievement are CHEN Bingxu, LIANG Guangwen, JIANG Shihong et al, whose teams deserve our respect, tracking and study. The number of research outputs in China in the world is very uneven. The journals with more articles are mainly published in China and the quality of papers still need to improve. The research content for the C. sinensis covers extensive issues but lack of the thorough study, especially for the research hotpots on the biological control, sex pheromone system communication, physiology and biochemistry. It is suggested that the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and relevant science department of the governments can provide guidance and further support for research projects so as to promote the comprehensive and coordinated development in this field.