Review article | Open Access
Helia 2025, Vol. 48(83) 172-197
Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Sunflower Technological Innovations: Bibliometric Insights into Research Focus, Findings, and Future Directions
pp. 172 - 197 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.29329/helia.2025.1411.8
Publish Date: December 31, 2025 | Single/Total View: 0/0 | Single/Total Download: 0/0
Abstract
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), a critical oilseed crop, which plays a pivotal role in addressing global food security and climate resilience challenges. The study conducted a bibliometric review of global studies on technical improvements in sunflower from 2000 to 2024. The inquiry, which used data from the Dimensions database and was displayed, using VOSviewer, contained 287 scholarly publications, indicating a significant increase in research production, with a peak of 20 articles in 2021. A positive correlation (r = 0.68, p < 0.05) was found between time and publication production, especially after 2010, indicating increased intellectual involvement in sunflower development in response to growing concerns about food security and climate resilience. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified important themes such as yield enhancement, drought resistance, oil quality, and genetic traits; nevertheless, socio-economic and sustainability concerns were not adequately addressed. The journal Helia was identified as the primary publication source, although co-authorship networks revealed fragmented institutional cooperation and limited regional integration. More than 95% of publications were primarily about agricultural and biological sciences, with little input from environmental or social sciences. These findings highlight the need for more interdisciplinary and inclusive research methodologies to fully explore sunflower technology developments for sustainable and equitable agro-food systems, identifying considerable gaps in socio-economic research and sustainability of sunflower production.
Keywords: Agricultural Innovation Systems; Bibliometric Analysis; Sunflower production; Technological Innovations
APA 7th edition
Kivuyo, E., & Khatibu, S. (2025). Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Sunflower Technological Innovations: Bibliometric Insights into Research Focus, Findings, and Future Directions. Helia, 48(83), 172-197. https://doi.org/10.29329/helia.2025.1411.8
Harvard
Kivuyo, E. and Khatibu, S. (2025). Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Sunflower Technological Innovations: Bibliometric Insights into Research Focus, Findings, and Future Directions. Helia, 48(83), pp. 172-197.
Chicago 16th edition
Kivuyo, Erasto and Salma Khatibu (2025). "Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Sunflower Technological Innovations: Bibliometric Insights into Research Focus, Findings, and Future Directions". Helia 48 (83):172-197. https://doi.org/10.29329/helia.2025.1411.8
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