Scientometric Update and Structured Synthesis of Microgreens Under Artificial Lighting: Trends and Reporting Gaps from 2022 to 2025

Abstract

Microgreens have rapidly become a relevant topic in horticulture, controlled-environment agriculture, food quality and functional nutrition. Because artificial lighting is a central factor in indoor production, this study updated the scientometric panorama of microgreens research up to 2025 and examined, in a 2022–2025 subset, studies that reported plant species, photoperiod, light intensity/PPFD, and spectral quality. Records from Web of Science and Scopus were merged (n = 1391), and after removing 604 duplicate records, the final database comprised 787 unique articles, which were analyzed using scientometric and descriptive statistical procedures. The literature showed accelerated growth after 2015 and a strong increase from 2022 onward, with geographic diversification and the emergence of Brazil and other countries in the international research network. Among the 552 articles published between 2022 and 2025, 107 studies (19.4%) simultaneously reported the four lighting-related descriptors. Brassica, Raphanus and Ocimum were the most frequent genera, and 16 h was the most common photoperiod. The most frequent PPFD interval was 200–299 µmol m−2 s−1, mainly under white, red, blue and mixed LED spectra in indoor and vertical farming systems. The findings indicate that microgreens research is expanding quickly but also highlight the need for standardized lighting reports and integrated indicators of energy, water, nutrient use, automation and productive feasibility.