A century of common bean: bibliometrics and scientific production

Abstract

This pioneering study applied bibliometric techniques and indicators to investigate more than a century of scientific production on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). This food item has the greatest global representation for cultivation and consumption, and it produces a significant impact on the nutritional quality of many populations. We analyzed over 15,000 scientific publications indexed in the Scopus database. The historical perspective based on indicators of diffusion, collaboration, and impact made it possible to map the main countries and lines of research on common bean. Our results indicate the predominance of studies on productivity, genetic improvement, nutritional quality, disease resistance, and adaptation to different cultivation environments. These research topics are associated with the evolutionary and domestication processes of this legume. Moreover, countries like the United States (the leading country), Brazil, United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and India stand out. Institutional arrangements, associated with scientific and technological projects of global scope, management structure, and conservation of genetic resources put the United States and other nations under the scientific spotlight for common bean research.