Bibliometric analysis of global research on fungal Metarhizium rileyi based on Web of Science

Abstract

The use of microbial agents for pest control has been increasing gradually since the 1960s. Among these control agents, the fungus Metarhizium rileyi is responsible for causing epizootics in larvae of Lepidopteran pests. However, studies with this entomopathogen are relatively scarce when compared to other species, such as Beauveria bassiana and M. anisopliae. Thus, it is relevant to identify the research gaps. Our objective was to carry out a bibliometric survey of research involving M. rileyi. The data collection for bibliometric analysis was performed in the Web of Science Core Collection database, using the keywords M. rileyi and Nomuraea rileyi, resulting in a total of 329 articles from 1974 to October 2021. The literature on M. rileyi does not demonstrate a constant upward trend, revealing only two peaks of publications (1992 and 2018), with a maximum of 12 articles per year. Of the 329 articles, 65% were published before the 1990s, emphasizing that despite recent advances, the majority of articles corresponded to the period between 1974 and 1999. In addition, 77% of the publications are focused on pest control, highlighting the importance of the pathogen for biological control. However, there is a lack of work focused on the large-scale production of the fungus, selective media for in vitro cultivation, the shelf life and environmental influence on conidia survival, application technology, formulations, and pathogen interaction with plants and insect hosts (trophic interaction).