Mapping the Global Landscape of Legume Research- Trends, Collaboration Patterns and Emerging Scientific Frontiers: A Review
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Legume crops are an important part of global food and nutritional security, sustainable agriculture and climate resilient farming systems. Although grain legumes are becoming more relevant, there is limited information about the global research landscape of grain legumes. The current study aimed to assess the intellectual structure, research productivity, collaboration profile and emerging thematic trends in legume research using a scientometric analysis based on the publications published in the Scopus database from 2016 to 2025. A total of 19,996 articles from 1,016 sources were analysed using bibliometrix and science-mapping approaches. The results showed a positive increase in legume research, 19,996 publications, with an annual growth rate of 16.92%. Soybean and chickpea emerged as the most extensively studied crops, as these crops are globally important for food, feed and sustainable agricultural systems. Rajeev K. Varshney and Yang Wenyu were recognized as the most prolific authors and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Iowa State University, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute and Punjab Agricultural University were identified as important institutional hubs. Legume Research, Frontiers in Plant Science and Agronomy were among a few highly productive journals. A shift in conventional breeding and genetic improvement research to sustainability, adaptation to climate change, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, deep learning and microbiome-based approaches were identified in recent years through trend topic analysis. International collaboration accounted for 23.11% of publications, highlighting the growing globalization of legume research.
DOI: 10.18805/lr-5692
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7223448070