Trends and gaps in tomato grafting literature: a systematic approach

Aim of study: To investigate the trends and existing research gaps in tomato grafting by employing scientometric methods. Area of study: In silico at SCOPUS database. Material and methods: Research articles were retrieved by combining the search terms related to tomato and grafting. The articles were selected according to pre-established criteria. Temporal trends and scientometric indexes were determined. Bibliometric mappings were conducted to determine the main countries, authors, and journals that published articles on tomato grafting; and to acquire collaboration and keywords co-occurrence networks. Technical aspects of tomato grafting were analyzed. Main results: A total of 397 research articles published from 1944 to 2020 were analyzed. The number of publications on tomato grafting increased at an annual rate of 8.8%. The USA and Spain are notable in terms of the number of published and cited articles. The USA and European countries had the highest number of collaborations. European authors had the strongest research connections. Interspecific grafts (61.83%) and experiments in controlled conditions (82.87%) predominated. The growing interest in tomato grafting has been observed as a means of overcoming environmental issues as well as yield and quality improvement. Research highlights: Collaboration among research groups contributed to a higher research impact on the theme. The mitigation of abiotic stresses and fruit quality has risen as significant concerns for tomato crops.