GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS
Instructions to authors
- Title
- Abstract
- Key words
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results and Discussion
- Acknowledgement
- References
- Book Reviews
- Author Page Charges
- Download a Sample Reprint
- Download Submission Form
- Download Review Form
- Submission Checklist
- Online Submission Register for ONLINE SUBMISSION
- Query/suggestion(s)
Instructions To Author
Authors should consult the Publication Style Manual of the Journal of Applied Horticulture, the primary guide for authors who prepare manuscripts and articles for a consideration of publication. The instructions to authors presented here are part of the manual and are intended to provide authors with JAH publication policies and general manuscript preparation to submit manuscripts in English.
Manuscript Submission.
Two copies of manuscripts should be sent to the Society for Advancement of Horticulture, A-859, Indiranagar, Lucknow-226016. The Manuscript Submission Form must be completed properly and accompany the submission.
Society for Advancement of Horticulture retains the copyright for all publications of JAH. Permission to reprint, republish, or reproduce individual contributions or parts of contributions must be obtained from the Society.
Review Policy and Procedure
All manuscripts must be submitted in English. Manuscripts submitted for publication may be reviewed by colleagues (internal review process) and revised. Rejection of submitted manuscripts that do not conform to the JAH will be informed to authors for correction. A manuscript number is assigned to each manuscript, which will be sent to the corresponding author with the acknowledgement and date of receipt. Always refer to the manuscript number in all correspondence thereafter.
Manuscripts submitted for publication are reviewed by an executive editor and two additional peer reviewers. Reviewed manuscripts are sent back to the corresponding author along with comments from reviewers. Some revision is usually necessary after the reviews, and final acceptance generally depends on extent of revision. In submitting revised manuscripts, authors are requested to submit explanations on how the revisions were made and the reason why they do not agree with the reviewers for those points on which they have no revision.
Alternatively, for quick processing, author may get the paper refereed through scholarly/experienced person in the field of research related with the paper and mail the attachment of revised paper along with his comments to reduce time required for pre-printing process. The reviewing is mandatory and sometimes may require more time at our level (as compared authors end). In case the reviewing is satisfactory JAH may not wait for the comments of other referees and paper will go for preprinting process. Authors may please request scholarly/experienced persons on behalf of JAH. Download Review form and instructions.
Proof as PDF file is sent to the corresponding author. Authors must proofread carefully, correct if necessary, and return as soon as possible. If case of minor corrections, authors may communicate the corrections in MSWord/text file through email mentioning page and para number along with original text and revised text
Manuscripts submitted for publication in the Journal must not have been published previously and submission implies no concurrent submission elsewhere. Two copies of manuscripts should be sent to the:
Managing Editor
Journal of Applied Horticulture
A-859, Indiranagar, Lucknow-226016, India
Phone:+91-0522-2351759, 2396932
Email: jah@horticultureresearch.net
Manuscripts should be double spaced and use single quotes around cultivar names except when they would modify the word cultivar. The number system for references will be used. Tables and graphs should be camera ready with lines and type adequate size to be easily read when reduced for publication. Manuscripts should be organized as follows: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion. Results and Discussion can be combined if that is most appropriate.
Submitted manuscripts are sent to two reviewers familiar with the subject. Acceptance depends on the evaluation by the reviewers and the editor. Reviewed articles are then returned to the author, revised and the finished article returned to the editor as a hard copy and on computer disk marked with the software program used.
Two copies of a manuscript with original figures should be submitted to JAH Editorial office. All manuscripts will be reviewed by at least two scholars for a decision on acceptance, revision or rejection, within three months. After acceptance a paper will be published mainly in chronological order.
Contributions to JAH must be original, clearly and precisely presented in English, and submitted in duplicate exclusively to the Journal of Applied Horticulture. Observational, experimental or applied papers on any aspect of horticulture are welcomed. Original articles should not normally exceed 20 typed pages. Short communications can be submitted but these must contain significant results and should not be viewed as an alternative publication route for papers previously rejected. Reviews should not exceed 20 typed pages and Short Communications must be restricted to five pages. Authors should provide e-mail and postal addresses, fax and telephone numbers. Papers text on floppy disk (1.44 MB), processed in WordStar/ Word Perfect/ MS Word will be helpful in early publication and omission of errors.
Online Submission
The size of the attached files should be less than 6 MB. Please submit large files/images on CD. Inquiries about other acceptable file formats should be directed to the same email address. It is also presumed that the authors have obtained the approval of their department, faculty or institute where such approval is essential. Journal or Editorial Board takes no responsibility for the facts or opinion expressed, which entirely rests with the authors of the paper. Reprints will be supplied to authors only on order.
Text must be typed on one side of white opaque paper, using double spacing throughout, with at least 30 mm of margin on all sides. Elaborately word-processed or typeset layouts should be avoided. On all points of style regarding text and tables follow a current copy of the Journal. Words to be italicized should be underlined or typed in italics. Register for ONLINE SUBMISSION
Title
The title should be concise, specific and informative. Please suggest a short running title of six to ten words.
Abstract
Write your Abstract after the rest of the paper is completed. After all, how can you summarize something that is not yet written? Economy of words is important throughout the paper, but especially in an abstract. However, use complete sentences and do not sacrifice readability for brevity. You can keep it concise by wording sentences so that they serve more than one purpose. For example, "Effects of low night temperature were investigated on two local hot pepper varieties (‘Beldi’ and ‘Baklouti’) grown at day/night temperature of either low night temperature regime (25°C/10°C) or optimum night temperature regime (25°C/20°C). " This sentence provides the overall question, methods, and type of analysis, all in one sentence. The writer can now go directly to summarizing the results.
Summarize the study, including the following elements in any abstract. Try to keep the first two items to no more than one sentence each.
- Purpose of the study - hypothesis, overall question, objective
- Brief description of the experiment
- Results, including specific data- if the results are quantitative in nature, report quantitative data; results of any statistical analysis shoud be reported
- Important conclusions or questions that follow from the experiment(s)
- Single paragraph, and concise (must not exceed 400 words)
- Always written in past tense
- Should stand on its own, and not refer to any other part of the paper such as a figure or table
- Focus on summarizing results - limit background information to a sentence or two, if absolutely necessary
- What you report in an abstract must be consistent with what you reported in the paper
- Corrrect spelling, clarity of sentences and phrases, and proper reporting of quantities (proper units, significant figures) are just as important in an abstract as they are anywhere else
Key words
A list of up to 12 key word , including the complete botanical name and common name (if any) of the plant material, must be supplied. Other key words should include the topic investigated and any special techniques used. The list of key words should be complete in itself. Title, abstract and key word list should be informative without reference to the remainder of the paper. The complete scientific name (Genus, species and authority), and cultivar or strain where appropriate, must be cited for every organism on first mention. The generic name may be abbreviated to its initial thereafter, except where reference to other genera could cause confusion. Vernacular names may be added, but should be used alone only when they are unambiguous.
Introduction
Your introductions should not exceed two pages (double spaced, typed).
The purpose of an introduction is to aquaint the reader with the rationale behind the work. It places your work in a theoretical context, and enables the reader to understand and appreciate your objectives.
- Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context.
- Provide a rationale. State your specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe the reasoning that led you to select them.
- Very briefy describe the experimental design and how it accomplished the stated objectives.
- Use past tense except when referring to established facts. After all, the paper will be submitted after all of the work is completed.
- Organize your ideas, making one major point with each paragraph. If you make the three points listed above, you will need a minimum of three paragraphs.
- Present background information only as needed in order support a position. The reader does not want to read everything you know about a subject.
- State the hypothesis/objective precisely - do not oversimplify.
Materials and methods
Materials and methods should include relevant details of materials, experimental design, techniques employed and statistical methods used.
Results and discussion
Result and discussion should be relevant, critical and supported by published evidence. Tables should be typed on separate sheets with title stating its contents clearly and concisely. Authors should write as clearly and concisely as possible, and in the third person. Large bodies of primary data should not be presented, and data may not be presented in both tabular and graphical form. Metric measurements in SI units should be used. If, non-SI units have to be used, the SI equivalents should be added in parentheses on first mention. Units should be spelled out except when preceded by a numeral, when they should be abbreviated g, mg, mL, d, h, ha etc. (not followed by full stops). Use the minus index (m-1, L-1, h-1) except in such cases as 'per plant' or 'per pot'. Numbers up to ten should be given in words except when referring to measurements: give 11 and upwards as numerals, except at the beginning of a sentence. Fractions should be expressed as decimals. Use '%' not 'per cent' in the text. Dates should be as: 1 Jan, 1999.
Acknowledgement
In acknowledgement please be brief, 'We thank...' (not 'The present authors would like to express their thanks to…..').
Citations in the text
Citations in the text should take the form:For papers by three or more authors use et al. throughout. Publications in the text should be cited by- author, year of publication and multiple citations should be in chronological order. Underline only Latin and generic names and the titles of books / journals.
References
Click to Download guidelines for Table, Figure and Reference style
Figures If computer drawn, these must be of the highest quality. Please comply exactly with the following instructions (Download a Sample Reprint).#
Submission Checklist
Please insure the followings before submission of the research paper
- Manuscript Title Page includes: Complete name, postal and e-mail addresses, and phone, mobile and fax numbers of the corresponding author; a condensed running title of ten words or less; and a list of 12 key words.
- Original and (2) copies of the manuscript are included (Not for online submission).
- Abstract does not exceed 450 words. A list on non-standard abbreviations is provided.
- Figures, references, and citations conform to the JAH format.
- A disk or CD labeled with the manuscript title, first author's name, and word processing program and version used is enclosed containing the text file of the manuscript and any digitized figures. (Not for online submission except image files are large in size > 6MB).
- Properly completed submission form.
Author Page charges:
Author charges completely cover the costs of peer-reviewing, copyediting, and publishing manuscripts. Accepted manuscripts will be processed/published with the understanding that the author will pay a charge of US$ 10 per printed page. For authors, in India, this charge is Rs. 500.00 per page.
Book Reviews on recent publications pertaining to or of interest to Horticulture will also be accepted.
