African Journal of Crop Improvement

Journal Editorial Policies

Prior Publication

The African Journal of Crop Improvement (AJCI), herein referred to as the journal, aims to disseminate original research findings. All submissions must be original contributions that must be unambiguously clarified by authors in their cover letter to the journal editor during manuscript submission. Examples of studies that will not be deemed as previously published or not under consideration for publication elsewhere at the time of submission include meeting abstracts, oral or poster presentations, non-peer reviewed conference proceedings, papers posted on not-for-profit preprint servers, non-peer reviewed student theses or dissertations and white papers. Other exceptions may be considered at the journal editor’s discretion.

Peer Review

No scientific manuscript/paper will be published unless at least two unbiased professional scientists together with at least one editorial board member agree that the paper is acceptable.  A maximum of one reviewer suggested by authors can be included as peer reviewers. All the editorial board members/associate editors are expected to exercise professional judgment and not simply accept recommendations (count ballots cast) by volunteer reviewers. The journal will keep the reviewers anonymous from authors and from each other. Nonetheless, the journal will not prevent reviewers from contacting the author(s) after the paper is published and disclose that they reviewed the paper. The journal will rely on voluntary domain experts to review manuscripts and to provide feedback to associate editors and/or authors.

Data Availability Policy

The journal expects that the data necessary to understand and evaluate the findings reported in the manuscript or publication shall be stored or archived in recognized repositories which may be accessible to the community or be available upon request to the authors. To facilitate access to data or figures, authors are encouraged to use the following recommended guidelines: https://www.ascb.org/science-news/how-to-make-scientific-figures-accessible-to-readers-with-color-blindness or https://towardsdatascience.com/two-simple-steps-to-create-colorblind-friendly-data-visualizations-2ed781a167ec)

Ethics Policy

Authors (members or non-members of the APBA), agree to the following ethical guidelines:

A. Uphold the highest standards of scientific investigation and professional comportment without compromising the commitment to the advancement of knowledge

B. Recognize and honor the accomplishments of others by properly crediting their ideas and work

C. Avoid conflicts of interest and ensure that the submitting (or corresponding) author obtained approval from each living co-author the consent to submit the manuscript

D. Provide impartial advice on scientific areas about which they are qualified to do so

E. Endeavor to mentor the young generation of scientists and to instill these ethical standards in both the young scientist and the generality of the scientific community.

The journal reserves the right to contact the funders, authors’ institutions or other relevant body where reasonable suspicions of breaching specific ethical standards exist and concomitantly halt peer review and publication until the matter under investigation is completed to the satisfaction of the editorial board. In this regard, the journal reserves the right to retract any published article that contains inappropriate content which may have escaped detection. Significant but unintentional, honest errors will not be classified as misconduct; hence the journal will publish an erratum as necessary to enable the authors to rectify any errors and omissions that may potentially affect the integrity of the version of the paper after publication. However, all corrections or additions will be subject to editorial approval and must be approved by all co-authors prior to submission.

Citation Manipulation Policy

Citation manipulation involves any systematic activity or practice that inappropriately exerts pressure on authors to cite material for the purposes of boosting citation rates. The journal considers such practices unacceptable. In addition, authors are strongly discouraged from disproportionately citing their own material (or articles) in their manuscripts. Similarly, pre-arranged preferential and regular citations of each other’s articles by individuals or groups of authors in most of their publications is considered unethical and any detection of such practices will result in severe consequences.

Plagiarism Policy

The journal prohibits duplication of material from other manuscripts or papers or from the author(s)’s own published papers. Where similar information is needed, for instance, in the Materials and Methods section, it must be summarized and cited instead of repeating the information verbatim. If significant plagiarism is detected, the journal shall take the necessary action as warranted.

Content Policy

The journal will not take responsibility for opinions and conclusions that may be expressed by authors and regards them as their own. Furthermore, advertisements in the journal do not constitute an endorsement of the product or trade therein mentioned, nor is any criticism implied of similar products not mentioned. Content generated using artificial intelligence will not be acceptable since the technology currently takes no responsibility for the submitted work. Authors are liable for any breach of publication ethics and the editor(s) shall rule on the matter as necessary in line with the editorial policy.

Author Guidelines

1. Manuscript submission

Manuscripts submitted to AJCI should represent novel scientific content that has not been submitted or published elsewhere. Each manuscript must be approved by all authors prior to peer review, and all authors must confirm their contributions as indicated in the manuscript. Any claims for compensation in case of misrepresentation or violation of others’ rights will be the full responsibility of the author(s). Authors must ensure to provide all relevant editable source files during every submission and revision to expedite the review process. All manuscripts should be submitted online following the link “manuscript submission”. A cover letter should accompany the submission.

2. Types of Manuscripts

Original Research Paper:  Reports new research findings that make a significant contribution to crop improvement. The journal recommendation is a 6,000 word limit excluding references.

Short Communication: Reports on significant findings or confirmatory results of on-going investigations. The journal recommendation is a 2,500 word limit excluding references.

Authoritative Critical Review Article (Only by invitation): Comprehensive and fully referenced exposition of a topic in crop improvement; should include background information and critical analyses of current work in the field and its significance; may be accompanied with figures and tables for illustration purposes and should aim to serve as source material. The journal recommendation is a 8,000 word limit excluding references

Methods Article: Describing improved methods relevant to crop improvement in both major and underutilized/new crops of interest to African cropping systems. The article can be designed and presented in narrative or protocol-style.

3. Special Note on Permissions

Contributing authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere should obtain written permission from the copyright owner(s) and include as evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting manuscripts. Any Tables, Figures or specific texts included in papers/manuscripts without providing such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

4. Structure of the Papers (Manuscripts)

A research paper should follow the standard IMRAD (Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion) structure (Wu, 2011: Improving the writing of research papers: IMRAD and beyond. Landscape Ecology: 26: 1345-1349) followed by Conclusions and Reference section.

Title: Should be concise, informative and not exceeding 20 words.

Author information: The name(s) of the author(s), full affiliation(s) (institution/department; city/state; country); active e-mail address of the corresponding author; the 16-digit ORCID of each author. Changes to the list of authors will not be possible after the manuscript has been accepted.

Abstract: Provide an abstract of 200 to 250 words. Include 5 to 6 keywords, which can be used for indexing purposes.

Text Formatting: Manuscripts should be prepared using the recommended template, using a normal, plain font (e.g., 10-point Times Roman) for text; The pages should be automatically numbered; field functions must not be used; tab stops should be used for indents.  Please do not use spreadsheets to insert tables, but rather use the table function in MS Word. Mathematical equations should be inserted using equation editor such as MathType.

Headings: Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

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

Footnotes: Footnotes should be avoided; any additional information pertaining to a Figure or Table should be embedded appropriately in the caption.

Acknowledgment: Ideally, acknowledgment of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section immediately at the end of the manuscript before the Reference section. Such acknowledgement should not include co-authors or institutions affiliated with co-authors.

Reference style: Use APA reference style as per the guidelines available here: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date

5. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors must disclose any use of generative AI, specifying the tool, version, purpose, and how the output was reviewed. Use of AI tools for basic grammar or spell-check will not require disclosure. Reviewers and editors are prohibited from using generative AI or AI-assisted technologies during peer review or editorial evaluation, as manuscripts are confidential and responsibilities must remain human. If policy violations are suspected, editors should contact the publications office.

6. Article Processing Charges (APC)

All articles accepted and published in AJCI are fully Open Access and will be immediately freely available. As an introductory offer for members of the African Plant Breeders Association, the first 20 accepted manuscripts will not be subject to an APC if the first or corresponding author has been a member of APBA for at least 6 months. All non-APBA members (first or corresponding authors) affiliated to an African institution whose manuscripts will have been accepted for publication will be charged a discounted fee of $ 500 if manuscript is published in any of the first 5 issues of the journal. All other authors who do not fit in the aforementioned categories will be charged a discounted fee of $ 1,000 if manuscript is accepted in any of the first 5 issues of the journal. The journal does not charge any submission fees or page charges.