Ratoon and Perennial Rice Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Trends and Sustainability Linkages (2003–2025)

Keyword and thematic analyses revealed that ratoon rice was primarily associated with agronomic management, productivity, resource-use efficiency, and environmental performance, whereas perennial rice was strongly connected with rhizome biology, genetics, quantitative trait loci, and wild germplasm. Increased overlap in sustainability-related themes, including resource-use efficiency, climate resilience, and environmental performance, was observed across both research domains.

These patterns suggest increasing thematic linkage between system-specific research, although bibliometric co-occurrence does not establish causal relationships. We propose an analytical intensification–redesign continuum for interpreting ratoon and perennial rice as approaches to reducing replanting frequency at different temporal and technological scales. Future research should strengthen long-term ecological assessment, sustainability metrics, digital agriculture applications, and representation of under-studied rice-growing regions.