Drought stress and pod shattering are critical constraints in soybean (Glycine max) cultivation. The independent breeding strategies have progressed for each trait, and their integration remains limited. The global bibliometric analysis of soybean improvement research from 1959 to 2025 focuses on drought tolerance and pod-shattering resistance. The analyzed Scopus-indexed articles using the Bibliometrix Biblioshiny R package and VOS-viewer totaled 914. The analysis comprised general information, top authors, core journals, affiliations, citation impact, conceptual framework, and research gaps. Results showed a significant increase in publications after 2010, driven by molecular tools (quantitative-trait loci [QTL] mapping, genome-wide association study [GWAS], and ribonucleic acid sequencing, or RNA-seq) and high-throughput phenotyping. China and the USA lead in productivity and collaboration, with Northeast Agricultural University and the University of Missouri as key institutions. Core journals include Crop Science and Frontiers in Plant Science, while J.E. Specht emerges as the most influential author. The analyses using conceptual and co-occurrence revealed that drought tolerance is central in soybean research, while pod shattering remains peripheral. This imbalance highlights a research gap and need for integrated, multi-trait studies. The study proposes a novel hypothesis linking both traits through ABA–auxin hormonal crosstalk, with the PDH1 (Pod Dehiscence1) gene identified as a potential regulatory hub. Integrating these traits is essential for developing climate-resilient soybean cultivars.
Bibliometric analysis, breeding strategies, conceptual structure map, drought stress, pod dehiscence, Scopus database
The bibliometric analysis of 914 publications (1959–2025) revealed the research on soybean breeding for drought tolerance and pod-shattering resistance has significantly intensified since 2010, driven by advances in molecular tools and high-throughput phenotyping, with China and the USA emerging as leading contributors. Drought tolerance emerges as a dominant factor, while pod shattering remains comparatively underexplored.