Scientometric analysis of seed improvement in underutilized crops: prospects for enhancing food security

Abstract Assessing research activity is important for planning future direction and adaptive approaches. We studied the trends and research activity conducted on seed improvement of underutilized crops, where research hotspots were determined based on keywords, productive research titles, and journal sources mapped from five decades (1971 to 2021). This was done using the combined data retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus databases, loaded in bibliometric R-package and VOSviewers software tools. Our results show the annual publication growth rate in the studies was 13.7%, with the increased number of studies and citations on seed improvement of underutilized crops (SUC) relating to seed genetic diversity, seed conservation, food security. Among the most cited studies or relevant researches were research findings carried out in the United Kingdom, India, USA and China. The strongest co-authorship linkages were found among researchers from India, the United Kingdom, Italy, Malaysia and the United States while Benin, Ghana and South Africa were among the most cited countries in Africa. The most cited journal source in the field was Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution which had a g-index of 14. Among the trending research focuses are; diverse genetic resources, nutritional values, seed enhancement, genetic analysis tools and farming system of the SUC. Research on SUC is rising with main themes on genetic resources, diversity, conservation and genetic tools-related studies. The SUC field still needs more international research collaboration and funding, with a focus on qualitative studies, adequate methodological procedures and advanced breeding resources that could help understand and promote seed improvement of underutilized crops.