# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Crop Yield and Soil Fertility Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/crop-yield-and-soil-fertility/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Crop Yield and Soil Fertility research in the Class of 2026?

Nitrogen use efficiency and soil organic carbon dominated the discourse. The most significant shift was the rapid rise of crop rotation and microbial biomass carbon.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Crop Yield and Soil Fertility |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 7,806 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Nitrogen use efficiency, Maize, Salt stress, Crop rotation, Soil organic carbon |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 36–97 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved June 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Conservation agriculture improves soil health and sustains crop yields after long-term warming | Jialing Teng, Ruixing Hou, Jennifer A J Dungait, Guiyao Zhou, Yakov Kuzyakov, Jingbo Zhang, Jing Tian, Zhenling Cui, Fusuo Zhang, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo | Jing Tian, Zhenling Cui, Manuel Delgado‐Baquerizo | China Agricultural University, China | Nature Communications | 97 | 10.1038/s41467-024-53169-6 |
| 2 | Maize smart-canopy architecture enhances yield at high densities | Jinge Tian, Chenglong Wang, Fengyi Chen, Wenchao Qin, Hong Yang, Sihang Zhao, Jinliang Xia, Xian Du, Yifan Zhu, Lishuan Wu, Yan Cao, Hong Li, Junhong Zhuang, Shaojiang Chen, Huayuan Zhang, Qiuyue Chen, Mingcai Zhang, Xing Wang Deng, Dezhi Deng, Jigang Li, Feng Tian | Jigang Li, Feng Tian | China Agricultural University, China | Nature | 86 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07669-6 |
| 3 | Optimized agricultural management reduces global cropland nitrogen losses to air and water | Luncheng You, Gerard H Ros, Yongliang Chen, Fusuo Zhang, Wim de Vries | Yongliang Chen | China Agricultural University, China | Nature Food | 84 | 10.1038/s43016-024-01076-w |
| 4 | Reducing soil nitrogen losses from fertilizer use in global maize and wheat production | Chao Wang, Yun Shen, Xiantao Fang, Shuqi Xiao, Genyuan Liu, Ligang Wang, Baojing Gu, Feng Zhou, Deli Chen, Hanqin Tian, Philippe Ciais, Jianwen Zou, Shuwei Liu | Jianwen Zou, Shuwei Liu | Nanjing Agricultural University, China | Nature Geoscience | 69 | 10.1038/s41561-024-01542-x |
| 5 | Soil health is associated with higher primary productivity across Europe | Ferran Romero, Maëva Labouyrie, Alberto Orgiazzi, Cristiano Ballabio, Panos Panagos, Arwyn Jones, Leho Tedersoo, Mohammad Bahram, Carlos A Guerra, Nico Eisenhauer, Dongxue Tao, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Pablo García-Palacios, Marcel G A van der Heijden | Ferran Romero, Marcel G. A. van der Heijden | Agroscope, Switzerland | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 67 | 10.1038/s41559-024-02511-8 |
| 6 | Global needs for nitrogen fertilizer to improve wheat yield under climate change | Pierre Martre, Sibylle Dueri, Jose Rafael Guarin, Frank Ewert, Heidi Webber, Daniel Calderini, Gemma Molero, Matthew Reynolds, Daniel Miralles, Guillermo Garcia, Hamish Brown, Mike George, Rob Craigie, Jean-Pierre Cohan, Jean-Charles Deswarte, Gustavo Slafer, Francesco Giunta, Davide Cammarano, Roberto Ferrise, Thomas Gaiser, Yujing Gao, Zvi Hochman, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Leslie A Hunt, Kurt C Kersebaum, Claas Nendel, Gloria Padovan, Alex C Ruane, Amit Kumar Srivastava, Tommaso Stella, Iwan Supit, Peter Thorburn, Enli Wang, Joost Wolf, Chuang Zhao, Zhigan Zhao, Senthold Asseng | Pierre Martre | INRAE, France | Nature Plants | 62 | 10.1038/s41477-024-01739-3 |
| 7 | Drivers of soil quality and maize yield under long-term tillage and straw incorporation in Mollisols | Chunzhu Liu, Bingcheng Si, Ying Zhao, Zhimin Wu, Xinchun Lu, Xu Chen, Xiaozeng Han, Yuanchen Zhu, Wenxiu Zou | Wenxiu Zou | Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Soil and Tillage Research | 57 | 10.1016/j.still.2024.106360 |
| 8 | Localized nitrogen management strategies can halve fertilizer use in Chinese staple crop production | Yize Liu, Minghao Zhuang, Xia Liang, Shu Kee Lam, Deli Chen, Arunima Malik, Mengyu Li, Manfred Lenzen, Liying Zhang, Rui Zhang, Lixiao Zhang, Yan Hao | Liang Xia, Liying Zhang, Lixiao Zhang, Yan Hao | Beijing Normal University, China | Nature Food | 53 | 10.1038/s43016-024-01057-z |
| 9 | Photosynthetic capacity and assimilate transport of the lower canopy influence maize yield under high planting density | Yanyan Yan, Fengying Duan, Xia Li, Rulang Zhao, Peng Hou, Ming Zhao, Shaokun Li, Yonghong Wang, Tingbo Dai, Wenbin Zhou | Wenbin Zhou | Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China | PLANT PHYSIOLOGY | 48 | 10.1093/plphys/kiae204 |
| 10 | Strategies for crop straw management in China's major grain regions: Yield-driven conditions and factors influencing the effectiveness of straw return | Jia Cheng, Bai‐Jian Lin, Jinsai Chen, Hong-Xuan Duan, Yuanfeng Sun, Xin Zhao, Yash P. Dang, Zhiyu Xu, Hai‐Lin Zhang | Zhiyu Xu, Hai‐Lin Zhang | China Agricultural University, China | Resources Conservation and Recycling | 46 | 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107941 |
| 11 | Diversified cropping modules designed for soil restoration, <scp>CO<sub>2</sub></scp> sequestration, and generating carbon credits | Ram Swaroop Meena, Gourisankar Pradhan, Nalani, Sandeep Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Ambuj Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar Verma, Krishan Kant Mina, Sunil Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Rupesh Chaturvedi | Ram Swaroop Meena, Gourisankar Pradhan, Sandeep Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Rupesh Chaturvedi | Banaras Hindu University, India | Land Degradation and Development | 45 | 10.1002/ldr.5224 |
| 12 | Influence of cover crops on soil aggregate stability, size distribution and related factors in a no-till field | Wei Dai, Gary Feng, Yanbo Huang, Ardeshir Adeli, Johnie N. Jenkins | Gary Feng | ORISE, United States | Soil and Tillage Research | 42 | 10.1016/j.still.2024.106197 |
| 13 | The impact of biochar addition on morpho-physiological characteristics, yield and water use efficiency of tomato plants under drought and salinity stress | Ghulam Murtaza, Muhammad Usman, Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Nauman Tahir, Mohamed S Elshikh, Jawaher Alkahtani, Monika Toleikienė, Rashid Iqbal, M Irfan Akram, Nazim S Gruda | Rashid Iqbal, Nazim S. Gruda | Kunming University of Science and Technology, China | BMC Plant Biology | 41 | 10.1186/s12870-024-05058-9 |
| 14 | A model suitable for estimating above-ground biomass of potatoes at different regional levels | Yang Liu, Yiguang Fan, Jibo Yue, Xiuliang Jin, Yanpeng Ma, Riqiang Chen, Mingbo Bian, Guijun Yang, Haikuan Feng | Jibo Yue, Haikuan Feng | Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, China | Computers and Electronics in Agriculture | 40 | 10.1016/j.compag.2024.109081 |
| 15 | Random forest machine learning for maize yield and agronomic efficiency prediction in Ghana | Eric Asamoah, Gerard B M Heuvelink, Ikram Chairi, Prem S Bindraban, Vincent Logah | Eric Asamoah | Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands | Heliyon | 39 | 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37065 |
| 16 | Global synthesis of cover crop impacts on main crop yield | Yu Peng, Lixin Wang, Pierre-André Jacinthe, Wei Ren | Lixin Wang | Indiana University Indianapolis (IUI), United States | Field Crops Research | 38 | 10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109343 |
| 17 | Legume-based crop diversification with optimal nitrogen fertilization benefits subsequent wheat yield and soil quality | Zhengjun Yan, Juncong Chu, Jiangwen Nie, Xinyue Qu, Antonio Rafael Sánchez‐Rodríguez, Yadong Yang, Paulo Sérgio Pavinato, Zhaohai Zeng, Huadong Zang | Zhaohai Zeng, Huadong Zang | China Agricultural University, China | Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment | 38 | 10.1016/j.agee.2024.109171 |
| 18 | Combining rotary and deep tillage increases crop yields by improving the soil physical structure and accumulating organic carbon of subsoil | Jingwang Li, Lin Chen, Congzhi Zhang, Donghao Ma, Guixiang Zhou, Qi Ning, Jiabao Zhang, Jiabao Zhang | Donghao Ma, Jiabao Zhang | Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Soil and Tillage Research | 37 | 10.1016/j.still.2024.106252 |
| 19 | Soil quality and ecosystem multifunctionality after 13-year of organic and nitrogen fertilization | Chunli Wang, Yuqing Ma, Wenhai He, Yakov Kuzyakov, Roland Bol, Haiqing Chen, Mingsheng Fan | Haiqing Chen, Mingsheng Fan | China Agricultural University, China | The Science of The Total Environment | 36 | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172789 |
| 20 | Impact of nitrogen on photosynthesis, remobilization, yield, and efficiency in winter wheat under heat and drought stress | Chen Ru, Xiaotao Hu, Wenè Wang, Hui Yan | Xiaotao Hu | Anhui Agricultural University, China | Agricultural Water Management | 36 | 10.1016/j.agwat.2024.109013 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in Crop Yield and Soil Fertility was dominated by core concepts related to sustainability and stress response. Nitrogen use efficiency was the most frequent topic, appearing in 20% of the top papers, reflecting an emphasis on optimizing resource input. Maize emerged as the most commonly studied specific crop, followed closely by studies on salt stress, each featured in 12% of the research. Crucially, foundational soil management practices such as crop rotation and the enhancement of soil organic carbon were also highly prominent, maintaining a consistent presence in 10% of the field's highest-impact work.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

The transition to the Class of 2026 saw significant shifts toward microbial health and complex rotational practices. Crop rotation experienced a massive five-fold increase in frequency, climbing from 2% to 10% representation. Similarly, microbial biomass carbon emerged rapidly from near absence to being a central theme in 8% of the top papers. Salt stress studies also tripled in prevalence. Conversely, more traditional focus areas like drought stress declined by half (from 16% to 8%), suggesting a pivot from simply observing climatic stress toward actively managing soil biology and diversity to mitigate agricultural vulnerabilities.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Crop Yield and Soil Fertility Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/crop-yield-and-soil-fertility/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```