Guide for Authors

Tutorial Videos 

 Author Guide Video

 Reviewer Guide Video

 Editor Guide Video 

Submitted manuscripts are reviewed by external experts or members of the editorial board of the J. Product. & Dev.. This journal employs a single-blind review process, meaning that the reviewers know the identity of the authors, but the authors do not know the identities of the reviewers.

 

Manuscript categories and requirements

 

Original Articles

 

Original articles represent the most common form of articles published in the journal. Typically, they describe the results of experiments carried out in order to test a novel hypothesis. Original articles should contain the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, and References.

 

Review Articles

 

The journal welcomes review articles on topics of high current interest within the scope of the journal. Review articles must also include an abstract, introduction, and references, but the other headings may be chosen depending on the structure of the article.

 

Short Communications

 

Short communications are brief articles that present particularly novel or exciting results, introduce new theories or ideas, or offer new methodological approaches. This format provides an opportunity for authors to (a) provide important results in concise form or (b) introduce significant new concepts or methods that are supported by a limited empirical data set. The papers should be highly original and represent ideas that will challenge current paradigms or approaches. They should stimulate thought, serving as precursors to new research programs or working groups. In these manuscripts, the headings required for original articles may be omitted, but the structure of the paper should more or less be the same. The length of the short communication should not exceed 3500 words plus 1-8 tables or figures.

 

Symposium Papers 

 

If you are interested in publishing a symposium in agricultural science, please contact the editor-in-chief for full guidelines.

 

Invited Papers 

 

Invited papers are subject to review, and all manuscript style and form guidelines of the journal shall be followed. Invited papers are exempt from page charges.

 

Invited Reviews 

 

Invited reviews will be approximately 10 published pages and in a review format. Nominations or suggestions for potential timely reviews are welcomed and should be sent directly to the editor-in-chief.

 

Contemporary Issues 

 

Contemporary Issues will address critical issues facing agricultural scientists and the agricultural industry. As such, submissions to this section should be of interest to any agricultural scientist, to the industry, to instructors and faculty teaching contemporary issues classes, and to undergraduate and graduate students. The section will consist of short papers (approximately 2 published pages) written in essay format and will include an abstract, appropriate subheadings, and references.

 

Book Reviews 

 

A limited number of book reviews will be published in Agricultural Science. Book reviews shall be prepared by the style and form requirements of the journal, and they are subject to editorial revision.

 

Letters to the Editor 

 

The purpose of letters will be to discuss, critique, or expand on scientific points made in articles recently published in Agricultural Science. The introduction of unpublished data will not be allowed, nor will material based on conjectures or speculation. Letters must be received within 6 months of an article's publication. Letters will be limited to 400 words and 5 references. The author(s) of the original paper(s) will be provided a copy of the letter and offered the opportunity to submit for consideration a reply within 30 days. Replies will have the same page restrictions and format as letters, and the titles shall end with "Reply." Letters and replies will be published together. Letters and replies shall follow appropriate J. Product. & Dev. formatting and may be edited by the editor-in-chief and a technical editor. If multiple letters on the same topic are received, a representative letter concerning a specific article may be published. Letters and replies will be published as space permits.

 

Ensure that the following items are present:

  1. One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
  2. All necessary files have been uploaded:
  3. Manuscript:
  4. Figure files (figures must be uploaded as separate files, not embedded in the manuscript)
  5. Supplemental files (where applicable).
  6. Conflict of Interest statement.
  7. Further considerations:
  • E-mail address
  • Full postal address
  • Include keywords.
  • All tables (including: titles, descriptions, and footnotes).
  • Figure legends.
  • Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided.
  • Manuscript has been checked by a spell checker and a grammar checker.
  • All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa.
  • Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet).
  • A competing interest statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare.
  • Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed.
  • Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements.

 

Submission Checklist

 

You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for review.

 

Manuscript Formatting

1.     Title Page

  • The name(s) of the author(s)
  • A concise and informative title:

-             Please avoid acronyms in the title of your article.

-             For local studies, please indicate the name of the region and country in the title.

  • The affiliation(s) and address(s) of the author(s).
  • The e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers (if available) of the corresponding author.

2.      Abstract

Please provide an abstract of about 10 to 15 lines.

3.      Keywords

Please provide 6 to 8 keywords which can be used for indexing purposes.

4.      Text

o   Text Formatting

-             Manuscripts should be submitted in Word.

-             Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 12-point Times Roman) for text.

-             Use italics for emphasis.

-             Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.

-             Do not use field functions.

-             Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.

-             Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables.

-             Use the equation editor or MathType for equations.

-             Save your file in docx format (Word 2003 or higher).

o   Headings

-             Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

o   Abbreviations

-             Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.

o   Footnotes

-          Footnotes can be used to provide additional information, such as citing a reference from the reference list. They should not contain only of a reference citation, and they should never include the bibliographic information for a reference. They should not include any figures or tables.

-          Footnotes in the text are numbered sequentially, whereas those in tables are denoted by superscript lower-case letters. Footnotes to the title or authors of the article are not marked with reference symbols.

-          Always use footnotes instead of endnotes.

o   Acknowledgments

-             Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section on the title page. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.

o   References

-          Papers must have been published or accepted for publication before being included in the References section. Manuscripts submitted for publication may be cited as "personal communication" or "unpublished data" in the text.

-          In the References section, references should be listed alphabetically by the last name of the author(s), followed by chronological order. The year of publishing appears after the authors' names. As with text citations, two or more publications by the same author or group of authors in the same year must be distinguished by adding lowercase letters after the date. The dates for publications with the same first author, shortened in the text as et al., even if the second and subsequent authors differ, must also be separated by letters.

-          All authors' names must be listed in the Reference section. Journals must be abbreviated in accordance with the standard ISO abbreviations listed in the National Library of Medicine's journals database (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/). Single-word titles must be written explicitly. All page numbers must be given.

o   Tables

-          Tables must be designed with the MS Word table function and incorporated into the document after the references section.

-          Tables should be arranged to fit across the page without running across. When designing tables, keep the printed page size in mind (more than 15 columns will cause layout issues).

-          Place the table number and title on the same line, above the table. The table title does not need a period.

-          Use only a few horizontal lines instead of vertical ones. Use bold and italic typefaces sparingly in the table; specify their use in a footnote. Each table should be on a separate page.

-          To make it easier to insert all tables in the manuscript file (immediately after the references), authors should use "section breaks" instead of "page breaks" at the conclusion of the article before/between the tables.

-          Units of measure for each variable must be indicated. Papers with several tables must use consistent format.

-          All columns must have appropriate headings.

-          Abbreviations not found on the inside front cover of the journal must be defined in each table and must match those used in the text.

-          Footnotes to tables should be marked by superscript numbers. Each footnote should begin a new line.

-          Superscript letters shall be used for the separation of means in the body of the table and explanatory footnotes must be provided [i.e., "Means within a row lacking a common superscript differ (P < 0.05)."]; other significant P-values may be specified.

-          Comparison of means within rows and columns should be indicated by different series of superscripts (e.g., a, b, … in rows; x-z … in columns) The first alphabetical letter in the series (e.g., a or A) shall be used to indicate the largest mean. Lowercase super- scripts indicate P ≤ 0.05. Uppercase letters indicate P ≤ 0.01 or less.

-          Probability values may be indicated as follows: *P ≤ 0.05, **P ≤ 0.01, ***P ≤ and 0.001. Consult a recent issue of JPD for examples of tables.

-          Generally, results should be presented to the significant figure of the instrument used to collect the data. For example, results should not be presented to 5 digits when the instrument used only reads to 2 digits.

o   Figures/Illustrations

-          General Points:

  • Submit each illustration as a separate file.
  • Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
  • Embed the used fonts if the application provides that option.
  • Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol, or use fonts that look similar.
  • Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
  • Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
  • Provide captions to illustrations separately.
  • Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the published version.
  • A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available.

-          Formats:

  • If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), then please supply 'as is' in the native document format.
  • Regardless of the application used other than Microsoft Office, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'Save as' or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
  • EPS (or PDF): vector drawings; embed all used fonts.
  • TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones); keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.
  • TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings; keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi.
  • TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/halftone (color or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.
  • Please do not:
  • Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colors;
  • Supply files that are too low in resolution;
  • Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

-          Color Image:

  • Please ensure that your artwork files are in an appropriate format (TIFF, JPEG, EPS, or PDF), or MS Office files, and have the right resolution.
  • If you submit usable color figures with your accepted article, Elsevier will ensure, at no additional cost, that these figures appear in color online (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites), regardless of whether they are reproduced in color in the printed version.
  • Elsevier will provide you information on the costs of color reproduction in print after receiving your accepted paper.
  • Please mention your color preference: print or online only.

-          Figure Captions:

  • Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure.
  • A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration.
  • Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

5.      Supplementary Data

o   Supplementary material, such as applications, images, and sound clips, can be published with your article to enhance it. Submitted supplementary items are published exactly as they are received (Excel or PowerPoint files will appear as such online).

o   Submit your supplementary material together with the article and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file. If you wish to make changes to supplementary material during any stage of the process, please make sure to provide an updated file. Do not annotate any corrections on a previous version.

o   Switch off the 'Track Changes' option in Microsoft Office files, as these will appear in the published version.

o   Ensure that the supplementary material is referred to in the main manuscript at an appropriate point in the text. Supplementary material will be available online only and will not be copyedited, so ensure that it is clearly and succinctly presented and that the style conforms to the rest of the paper.

o   Ensure that the presentation will work on any Internet browser. It is not recommended for the files to be more than 2 MB each, although exceptions can be made at the editorial office's discretion.

Submission Declaration and Verification

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture, or an academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically, without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Data Availability Statement

Provide information on where the data supporting the study may be accessible, including links to publicly archived datasets if relevant. If no data were reported, this statement might be removed.

Acknowledgments

Include any extra help not covered by funds or author contributions, such as administrative or technical assistance.

Publication Frequency

J. Product. & Dev., publishes a volume of 3 issues per year annually in April, August, and December.

List of Journal topics

The main subject areas include plant or animal in of breeding and genetics; nutrition; physiology and functional biology; behavior and health management (behavior; health management); farming systems as well as protection plants, food industry, agricultural economic and quality of Agricultural products.

Open Access and Article Processing Charge (APC)

o   The journal is published in both print and online versions, and all articles published in the journal are fully open access and freely available online, immediately upon publication.

o   Egyptian author(s) must pay 600 LE as a review fee, and an additional 1,000 LE is required after formal acceptance for publication.

o   Non-Egyptian author(s) must pay 100 USD to cover both the review and publication charges.

 

Copyright policy

The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright, and to retain publishing rights without any restrictions.