Rice Allelopathy in Weed Control Research: A Bibliometric Perspective

Abstract

Weed control using synthetic herbicides is widely practiced due to its cost-effectiveness and ease of application. Allelopathy, a natural biochemical process, has strong potential for development as an environmentally friendly bioherbicide in sustainable weed management systems. Scientific documents were retrieved from the Scopus database covering the period from 2000 to 2026. Bibliometric indicators—including publication growth, the most productive authors and institutions, the most productive document sources, the most cited papers, and cluster analysis—were analyzed and presented using general statistical methods. The results show that the number of publications and citations on rice allelopathy in weed control has fluctuated over the past two decades. Ill-Min Chung, Hisashi Kato-Noguchi, and Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University ranked first as the most productive authors and institution, respectively. A substantial number of papers have been published in Allelopathy Journal and the Journal of Chemical Ecology, with East Asian countries contributing the highest volume of research and publications related to rice allelopathy. Research on rice allelopathy focuses on the interaction between rice plants and Echinochloa crus-galli as a dominant weed in rice cultivation, the identification and mechanisms of action of allelochemicals, and the development of more environmentally friendly weed suppression strategies. Overall, the research trend points toward the use of allelopathy as a biological approach within sustainable weed control systems. weed management strategies as an alternative bioherbicidal approach.