Citrus nutrition under changing climate: bibliometric trends and insights

Conventional nutrient management in citrus assumes soil–plant–environment relationship constant, and with changing climate, fertilization decisions warrant to be more dynamic, though a formidable challenge to researchers. We carried out bibliometric analysis of Scopus-derived articles published during 1992–2022 covering citrus nutrition under changing climate. Bibliometric analyses revealed that only 178 Scopus-derived articles dealing with climate–citrus relationship were published, with research highly fragmented across modeling, sociopolitical dimensions, and plant physiology, and very limited integration among these domains. Bibliometric trends identified three dominant research clusters in climate change–citriculture domain: i. modeling and climate suitability analyses, ii. socioeconomic and policy-oriented vulnerability studies, and iii. plant physiology and abiotic stress responses, with citrus nutrition finding no place of prominence in research. Over time, research emphasis has shifted away from abstract risk modeling toward mechanistic and field-oriented studies focusing on drought, heat stress, irrigation demand, and plant physiological performance under changing climatic conditions. This study further showed two critical gaps dominating literature: i. limited studies on crop response in relation to combined abiotic and biotic stresses (e.g. heat + drought + salinity + Huanglongbing, HLB), severely limiting the field realistic response functions and ii. limited predictive models capable of projecting yield and quality across citrus regions and climate scenarios, largely site- or period-specific. Although irrigation demand projections exist, their links to yield, economic outcomes, and farmers decision-making are weakly developed. The study finally highlighted the subject of climate change–citrus nutrition as weakly studied, an issue of secondary importance.