Instructions to Authors of Manuscripts for Crop Breeding Journal (CBJ)
General Requirements
Full papers must be either reports of original research or critical reviews articles. Crop Breeding Journal also publishes crop registration papers, short communications. Submissions to Crop Breeding Journal must not be previously published in or simultaneously submitted to any other scientific or technical journal.
Scope
Crop Breeding Journal is the normal channel for publication of papers in crop genetics, breeding, cytology, genomics, molecular genetics, and biotechnology; and crop genetic resources. Articles reporting experimentation or research in crop breeding or reviews of such research will be accepted for review as papers. Short articles concerned with experimental techniques, apparatus, or observation of unique phenomena will be accepted for review as short communications.
Submission Procedures
Manuscript should be submitted electronically to Crop Breeding Journal to facilitate rapid publication. All manuscripts should be submitted through online submission system ( http://cbjournal.spii.ir ). A user ID and password for the site can be obtained on first use. Authors should read Guide to Authors carefully before submission of their manuscripts.
Preparation of Manuscript
Submit the main text document in word 2003/2007 file using Times New Roman of 12 points. Double-space all text including; the references, tables heads, figure captions, footnotes, as well as most tables, and use line numbering on each page to facilitate editing and reference. Check any Greek characters and figures carefully. On the first page, give the title, a byline with the names of all authors, an author–paper documentation footnote. An abstract is required and is normally the second manuscript page. After the title page and abstract, the usual order of sections are: Introduction (which includes the literature review), Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions (optional), Acknowledgments (if necessary), and References, followed by any figure captions and the tables. Results and Discussion may be combined and conclusions can be given at the end of the Discussion section. For citation of references in the text either of the name –year system is acceptable, e.g. for single author; Richards (2005), (Richards, 2007), for two authors; Reynolds and Trethowan (2006), (Reynolds and Trethowan, 2006), for more than two authors; Ehdaie et al. (2008), (Ehdaie et al., 2008), or (Reynolds and Trethowan, 2006; Richards, 2007; Ehdaie et al., 2008).
Start each section (including figure captions and tables) on a new page and number all pages. Please convert your document file into PDF format, and check it in the PDF “proof” before submitting.
Figures
Submit figures in high-resolution. TIFF or EPS files are best for resolution (don’t insert these files into a word processing document because this will reduce resolution). Width of figures should approximate desired print size, i.e., 8 cm for a one column figure, 18 cm for a two column figure. Photographs and drawings for graphs and charts should be prepared with good contrast of dark and light. Give careful attention to the width of lines and size and clarity of type and symbols. Variables (e.g., r, x, y) should be italicized. A figure caption should be brief, but sufficiently detailed to tell its own story. Specify the crop or soil involved, the major variables presented, and the place and year. Identify curves or symbols in a legend within the figure itself, not in the caption. Define abbreviations in the caption. Define symbols used in the caption or in the legend. Be sure to indicate the scale for micrographs, either in the illustration or the caption.
Tables
Start each table, numbered sequentially, on a new page. Prepare tables with the tables feature in your word processor; do not use tabs, spaces, or graphics boxes. Tables should read from left to right. Each datum needs to be contained in an individual cell. Table heads should be brief but complete and self-contained. Define all variables and spell out abbreviations on first mention in tables, even if they have already been defined in the text. The reader should be able to understand the table content without referring back to the text. Individual values in the body may be highlighted in bold or italic type or underlined, but shading is not allowed. In the body of a table, only the first word in a row should be capitalized (the exception would be proper nouns, which should always be capitalized). Tables should be placed at the end of the main text document. The * and ** are always used in this order to show statistical significance at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels, respectively, and cannot be used for other notes. Significance at other levels is designated by a supplemental note. Lack of significance is usually indicated by NS. For table footnotes, use the following symbols in this order: †, ‡, §, ¶, #, ††, ‡‡. Cite these symbols just as you would read a table—from left to right and from top to bottom, and reading across all spanner and subheadings for one column before moving on to the next. An exponential expression (e.g., × 10-3) in the units’ line is often necessary to keep the length of data values reasonably short. This ambiguous expression must be referenced with an explanatory note. First mention of tables in the text must be in sequential order.
Title and byline
A title gives the reader a clear idea of what the article is about; it should be brief and informative. Use common names for crops and avoid abbreviations. The usual limit for titles is 10 to 12 words (not counting “and,” “of,” and similar conjunctions and prepositions). Titles in a numbered series of articles may be longer. Below the title, list the names of all authors. Place an
asterisk after the name of the corresponding author (i.e., the person from whom reprints are to be requested).
Author–paper documentation
The author–paper documentation is a single paragraph. The first sentence lists the authors without professional titles) and their complete, current addresses. If a paper has only one author, or if all authors are from the same department and institution, omit the names (i.e., give the address only). The second sentence lists institutional sponsors, with the institutional article number of similar contribution acknowledgment. Add such an acknowledgment if an author has moved and using the current address leaves no other mention of the involvement of the former institution. Other information such as granting, funding, or dissertation status may follow. End the author–paper documentation paragraph with these two statements: “Received ___________. *Corresponding author (e-mail).” The date received will be filled in by the Editor –in-Chief.
Keywords
Prepare a list of five keywords used in your article in alphabetical order. Do not include the words used in the title.
Footnotes
Footnotes are not encouraged in the text, but may be used when necessary (typically for a product disclaimer). Number any footnotes consecutively.
Abstract
Abstract is a single self-contained paragraph of no more than 200-250 words. Abstracts should contain the rationale, objectives, methods, highlights of results, and their meaning or scope of application. Be specific. Identify the crops or organisms involved, the soil type, chemicals, and other details that are pertinent to the results. Do not cite figures, tables, or references, and avoid equations.
Nomenclature and identification of materials
Give the complete binomial (in Italic) and authorities at first mention (in Abstract or text) of plants, pathogens, and insects or pests.
Units of measure
The SI system (Système International de Unités) is required in Crop Breeding Journal. Other units may be indicated in parentheses after the SI unit if this helps understanding or is needed for replication of the work.
References
The reference section is typically limited to published literature and unpublished but available reports, abstracts, theses, and dissertations. The author–year notation system is required; do not use numbered notation. For journal articles, give the authors, year, complete article title, abbreviated journal title, volume number, and inclusive pages. For book chapters, give the authors, year, chapter title, pages, book editor (if any), complete book title, publisher, and place of publication. For proceedings, give also the place and date of the conference. In the list, arrange references alphabetically by author. All single author entries precede multiple-author entries for the same first author. Use chronological order only within entries with identical authorship (alphabetizing by title for same-author, same-year entries). Add a lowercase letter a, b, c, etc. to the year to identify same-year entries for text citation. Do this also for any multiple-author entries that would otherwise result in identical citations in the text.
Note: Cite personal communications, unpublished data, and reports not available to the public in the text only (in parentheses; state the year). Examples:
Anbessa, Y., Juskiw, P., Good, A., Nyachiro, J. and Helm, J. 2010. Selection efficiency across environments in improvement of barley yield for moderately low nitrogen environments. Crop Sci. 50: 451-457.
Brown, P. D. and Morra, M. J. 1997. Control of soil-borne plant pests using glucosinolate containing plants. Adv. Agron. 61: 167–231.
Caldwell, B. A. 1997. Fatty acid esterase activity in forest soils and ectomycorrhizal mat communities. pp. 223. In:1997 Agron. Abstract. ASA, Madison, WI.
SAS Institute. 1994. The SAS system for Windows. Release 6.10. SAS Inst., Cary, NC.
Power, J. F. and Biederbeck, V. O. 1991. Role of cover crops in integrated crop production systems. pp. 167–174. In: W. L. Hargrove (ed.) Cover crops for clean water. Proc. Int. Conf., Jackson, TN. 9–11 Apr. 1991. Soil and Water Conserv. Soc., Ankeny, IA.
Kirkegaard, J. A. 1990. Effect of compaction on the growth of pigeonpea on clay soils. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Snedecor, G. W. and Cochran, W. G. 1989. Statistical methods. 8th ed. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames.
Campbell, G. S. and Norman, J. M. 1989. The description and measurement of plant canopy structure. pp. 1–19. In: G. Russell et al. (ed.) Plant canopies: Their growth, form and function. SEB Seminar Ser. 31. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Sakamoto, S. (ed.) 1983. Proc. Int. Wheat Genet. Symp., 6th, Kyoto, Japan. 28 Nov.–3 Dec. 1983. Plant Germ-Plasm Inst., Fac. Agric., Kyoto Univ., Kyoto.
Salisbury, F. B. 1981. Response to photoperiod. pp. 135–167. In: O. L. Lange, et al. (ed.) Physiological plant ecology: I. Responses to the physical environment. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology. Vol. 12A. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Revisions
All revisions to the manuscript during the review process will be made by the author only, and revisions will be given the same manuscript number, with an R number on the end (e.g., CROP-2006–04–0017-ORA.R1). Each revision has the opportunity for another round of review—the manuscript status “awaiting reviewer selection” is automatic and does not indicate a resubmission.
Notice for Word 2007 users
If you have equations, they must be composed using the Microsoft Equation 3.0 editor found under “Insert Object”. Do not use “Insert Equation”, which creates images (when converted) that cannot be used for typesetting. Regrettably, we will need to return any files created with Word 2007 that contain equations created with “Insert Equation” to the authors for resetting.
Accepted Manuscripts
When your manuscript is accepted, you will receive notification from the Editor-in-Chief, and the accepted files (word processing, PDF, and figure files in any format) will automatically be sent for final editing and preparation. A hard copy is no longer required; the figure files submitted will be used for press.