Research status and development trend of fruit tree science in China based on bibliometric and questionnaire survey

China’s fruit industry, an important constitute of agricultural economics, contributes significantly to nutrition security, farmer livelihoods, and rural revitalization. This significance is quantitatively underscored by the national fruit production which reached 327 million tons in 2023. However, persistent challenges, including ongoing threats from diseases and pests, substantial postharvest wastage occurring along the industrial chain, and low rates of mechanization adoption within orchard operations, impose constraints upon the industry’s upgrading and sustainable development. To systematically bridge the evident gap between academic research and practical industry demands, this study strategically integrated two methodological approaches, bibliometric analysis and multi-stakeholder surveys, aiming to achieve three specific and interconnected objectives: firstly, to evaluate China’s current statues in the scope of the global research landscape while concurrently identifying key industry bottlenecks; secondly, to assess the degree of alignment between scientific outputs generated through research activities and the practical demands articulated by industry development; and thirdly, to propose actionable priority pathways capable of guiding the industry toward smarter and more sustainable transformation models. Our methodological approach involved conducting a thorough bibliometric analysis encompassing a substantial corpus of 60 761 SCIE-indexed scholarly articles published globally within the timeframe spanning January 2015 through July 2024. This quantitative examination was systematically executed utilizing the Web of Science database accessed via the InCites Benchmarking & Analytics platform alongside the specialized visualization software VOSviewer (version 1.6.19.0), enabling detailed analyses, including keyword co-occurrence network mapping, thematic clustering identification, and longitudinal trend evaluations tracking shifts over the decade. Concurrently, to capture grounded perspectives directly from the fruit field, we administered and subsequently analyzed 314 rigorously validated questionnaires distributed across a representative range of key industry stakeholders. This included scientists from the national modern agricultural industry technology system (constituting 48.3% of respondents), orchard manager or association (18.7% ), governmental policymakers (11.2% ), field technicians (14.6%), commercial enterprise representatives involved in the fruit sector (3.1%), and additional relevant contributors (4.0%). China plays a leading role in the science of fruit tree research, evidenced by the remarkable output of 19 635 SCIE publications that represent 32.32% of the total global scholarly output in this domain, coupled with an even more substantial citation impact totaling 323 090 citations which constitutes 36.81% of all global citations. This leadership position is further solidified by demonstrating significant and consistent annual growth, escalating from a base of 996 publications in 2015 to 3311 publications in 2022. Simultaneously, China's contribution to globally influential research is highlighted by its production of 248 ESI highly cited papers, representing a dominant 63.59% global share, which are predominantly focused on anthocyanin biosynthesis, fruit firmness, and deep learning. Cluster analysis identified seven core research themes: bioactive compounds/quality regulation, molecular mechanism of fruit development/stress response, pest-pathogen management and pathogen interaction, postharvest physiology and storage technology, flavor metabolomics and detection, smart phenotyping, and oxidative stress/nutrition. These themes centered on key species like apple, citrus, grape, and peach. Emerging research areas included multi-omics and machine learning. Surveys revealed a pronounced research-industry misalignment. Bibliometrics indicated a dominant academic focus on fundamental questions (e.g., molecular regulation) and emerging technologies (e.g., smart detection), whereas industry surveys identified critical bottlenecks: inadequate postharvest processing capacities (15.6%), inadequate labor- saving cultivation techniques (11.0% ), and limited cultivar diversity (10.1% ). Based on nationwide surveys, breeding and promotion of varieties (14.6%), pest and disease control (9.8%), and R & D in labor-saving mechanization (9.6%) ranked as the top three urgent technological problems, with scientists similarly emphasizing cultivar development (14.8% ) and R & D in labor- saving mechanization (11.6% ). Technology-specific demands revealed strategic shifts in germplasm innovation toward highquality, strong resilience, and machine-adaptability traits over yield maximization; seedling production required breakthroughs in efficient virus- free techniques for seedlings, efficient virus detection, and mechanized grafting and production techniques; cultivation management necessitated essential advances in simplified cultivation, high-quality cultivation, high-yield cultivation, and eco-friendly techniques. Over the past decade, China's fruit research has achieved remarkable progress in fundamental studies and high-impact research outputs. It leads in both total SCIE publications and highly cited papers, demonstrating substantially enhanced international influence and innovation capacity. However, critical technological bottlenecks exist. These include inadequate postharvest processing capacities and underdeveloped mechanization systems, which hinder the transformation of research achievements. Meanwhile, a partial misalignment exists between current research priorities and industrial needs, compounded by underdeveloped applied technology frameworks and suboptimal knowledge transfer pathways. Future efforts should prioritize interdisciplinary collaboration integrating genetics, cultivation management, and agricultural engineering to strengthen mechanization innovation. We propose focusing on machine-adaptability as the pivotal breakthrough. Specifically, this entails developing mechanization-compatible cultivars with corresponding cultivation techniques. Moreover, we should establish a closedloop mechanism connecting“basic research - applied technologies - industry extension”to propel China's fruit industry toward high-quality, smart, and sustainable development.