Patrones de producción e impacto científico del Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT): 1966-2010

Abstract

We present a bibliometric study of scientific production and citations of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, by its Spanish acronym) contained in Web of Science (WoS) citation indices. Since its inception, CIMMYT has focused on the development of research in plant genetics, to improve yields and quality of new seeds varieties, a success story widely known as the Green Revolution. Currently CIMMYT operates centers in fourteen countries and enjoys wide recognition for its service to society. This study examines papers published by CIMMYT and CIMMYT-Mexico in mainstream journals included in the WoS database between 1966 and 2010 in order to determine CIMMYT’s contribution of the development of science in Mexico and around the world. As a working hypothesis, we assume that the academic contributions of Nobel laureate N. Borlaug, significantly influenced the growth of this center. Results, however, show that the Nobel Peace Prize had little or no influence on the growth of scientific production issuing from CIMMYT research centers. Moreover, this influence was even less detectable in the CIMMYT-Mexico, which accounted for 76 % of the published research and 84 % of the citations in the period assessed, making it CIMMYT’s leading research center in terms of scientific production and bibliometric impact. Moreover, CIMMYT scientific publications accounted for 1.0 % of Mexico’s scientific output and 1.6 % of citations.