Guide for authors

GUIDE FOR AUTHORS:Editorial Review and Acceptance: The acceptance criteria for all articles are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to readership. All manuscripts are peer reviewed by two or three anonymous reviewers, and the final acceptance or rejection rests with the Editorial Board, who reserves the right to refuse any material for publication. Authors are encouraged to suggest three to five qualified reviewers. Decisions on acceptance, revision, or rejection are made within three to six months of submission commonly. Papers are usually published in chronological order of acceptance. The editors reserve the right to modify typescripts to eliminate ambiguity and repetition. If extensive alterations are required, the manuscript will be returned to the author for revision. Submission of Manuscripts The original manuscript can be submitted online (http://www.chinacrops.org/zwxb), or via E-mail (xbzw@chinajournal.net.cn), or through post office (two copies). The mailing address is: Editorial Office of Acta Agronomica Sinica c/o Institute of Crop Sciences Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) No. 12 Zhongguancun South Street Beijing 100081, China Preparation of Manuscripts Manuscripts must be written in Chinese with English abstract or in English with Chinese abstract. The manuscripts should be formatted in DOC file with double-spaced, single column and wide margin, and hard copies must be printed on one side only of A4 paper. All pages should be numbered consecutively in the bottom right-hand corner, beginning with the title page. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following order: ¿ Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long) ¿ Name(s) of author(s) ¿ The institutions at which the work was carried out and their postal addresses ¿ Abstract followed by keywords, normally 3¿6 items ¿ Introduction (not include as a heading) ¿ Materials and Methods ¿ Results ¿ Discussion ¿ Conclusion ¿ Acknowledgments and any additional information concerning research grants, etc. ¿ References On the footnote of the first page the following information should be provided: (1) Foundation item(s), including the name of the foundation item and its code; (2) Biography for the first author and/or the corresponding author and their full telephone No., Fax No. and E-mail addresses. If the paper has written in Chinese, the English abstract should state the background, purpose, basic procedures, main findings and principal conclusions of the study with more than 500 words, in which the data of tables and figures mainly contributed to the conclusions should be cited. The abstract should not contain abbreviations or references. All measurements must be given in SI or SI-derived units. Abbreviations should be used sparingly ¿ only where they ease the reader's task by reducing repetition of long, technical terms. Initially use the word in full, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation only. Upon its first use in the title, abstract, text and materials and methods, the common name of a species should be followed by the scientific name (genus, species and authority) in parentheses. However, for well-known species, the scientific name may be omitted from the article title. References The references should only include works that have been published or accepted for publication. Unpublished data and ¿personal communications¿ should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text. References cited in the text should be numbered in sequence as they appear. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list. All authors' names should be mentioned in the list. If the works is not published in English, the actual language should be indicated in parentheseses. Examples: For periodicals: [1] David J L, Zivy M, Cardin M L, Brababt P. Protein evolution in dynamically managed populations of wheat: adaptive responses to macro-environmental conditions. Theor Appl Genet, 1997, 95: 932¿941 [2] Yang J C, Wang Z Q, Liu L J, Lang Y Z, Zhu Q S. Growth and development characteristics and yield formation of dry-cultivated rice. Acta Agron Sin, 2002, 28(1): 11¿17(in Chinese with English abstract)For books: [3] Evans L T. Crop Evolution, Adaptation and Yield. New York: Cambridge, 1993 [4] Mo H D. Agricultural Experimentation, 2nd ed. Shanghai: Shanghai Sci and Tech Press, 1992. pp 467¿602 (in Chinese) For edited symposia: [5] Lupton F G H. Physiological bases of heterosis in wheat. In: Janossy A, Lupton F G H eds. Heterosis in Plant Breeding. New York: Academic Press, 1974. pp 71¿80 [6] He Z-H, Xiao S-H, Zhuang Q-S. Wheat breeding progress from 1996 to 2000. In: Zhuang Q-S, Du Z-H eds. Advance of Wheat Breeding in China. Beijing: China Science and Technology Press, 2002. pp 3¿7( in Chinese)Tables and Figures All tables and figures should be cited in the text, and numbered according to their sequence in the text. ¿ Each table and figure should have a brief and self-explanatory title. ¿ Large tables should be avoided. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables. ¿ Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added in parentheses. ¿ Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead. ¿ Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table. All illustrations (graphs, diagrams and photographs) in the text should be referred to as figures. It is preferred that photographs, especially color ones, be grouped together into one or more plates. The maximum length is 240 mm (not including the caption) and the width 170 mm for a full page. Legends should be concise but comprehensive, i.e. the plate and its legend must be understandable without reference to the text, including definitions/explanations of any symbols, abbreviations and units of measurement mentioned in the plate. ¿ Photographs should be marked on the back in pencil, with name of author, figure number and orientation. ¿ Graphs and diagrams should be drawn with computer. Copyright Once manuscript is accepted by AAS, the authors will be asked to sign the Copyright Assignment. By signing of this document, the copyright of the paper is transferred legally to AAS, and the Editorial Board therefore has the authority to distribute its printed and electronic versions to related databases within China and abroad. Publication Fees and Offprint Author(s) should pay RMB 150 as the reviewing fee when submitting a manuscript to AAS. Accepted Original article and Reviews must be limited within five printed pages each, while Research note should be no more than three printed pages each. Publication fee is RMB 260 for each printed page, RMB 1000 for each color figure or plate.Thirty offprints will be supplied free of charge. Additional offprints can be ordered before the journal published.