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SCIENTIA HORTICULTURAE

Guide for Authors



Scientia Horticulturae is an international journal publishing research related to horticultural crops. Articles in the journal deal with open or protected production of vegetables, fruits, edible fungi and ornamentals under temperate, subtropical and tropical conditions. Papers in related areas (biochemistry, micropropagation, soil science, plant breeding, plant physiology, phytopathology, etc.) are considered, if they contain information of direct significance to horticulture. Papers on the technical aspects of horticulture (engineering, crop processing, storage, transport etc.) are accepted for publication only if they relate directly to the living product. In the case of plantation crops, those yielding a product that may be used fresh (e.g. tropical vegetables, citrus, bananas, and other fruits) will be considered, while those requiring processing (e.g. rubber, tobacco, tea, and quinine) will not.

Types of contribution
1. Original full papers (Regular Papers)
2. Review articlesshould cover a part of the subject of active current interest.
3. Short Communications
3.1 Report of preliminary results of important research (pilot investigation; e.g. no duplications or with other restrictions).
3.2 Report on research with restricted originality; modification of earlier reported research with no or limited explanatory aspects.
3.3 Newly developed methodology or modification of existing methodology, possibly description of first test.
3.4 Results of the application of an earlier published research methodology on other crops or under different conditions (fact finding or recipes) that are nevertheless of interest to an international readership.
4. Book Reviews will be included in the journal on a range of relevant books which are not more than 2 years old.

Original papers should report the results of original research. The material should not have been previously published elsewhere, except in a preliminary form. Reviews should cover a part of the subject active current interest. They may be submitted or invited.
Short Communications should be as completely documented, both by reference to the literature and description of the experimental procedures employed, as a regular paper. They should not occupy more than 4 printed pages (about 8 manuscript pages, including figures, etc.).

For consultation or suggestions please contact:

Dr. John Bower
Department of Horticultural Science
University of KwaZulu-Natal
P. Bag X01
Scottsville
Pietermaritzburg 3209
South Africa


Dr. Robert Geneve
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
College of Agriculture
N318 Ag Science Bldg North
Lexington
KY 40546-0091
USA


Dr. Dietmar Schwarz
Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops
Theodor Echtermeyer Weg 1
14979 Grossbeeren
Germany


Dr. X. Deng
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvements
National Center of Crop Molecular Breeding
Huazhong Agricultural University
Wuhan 430070,
PR China


Online Submission of manuscripts
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or 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, without the written consent of the Publisher.
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see External link http://www.elsevier.com/copyright. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided.

(2) Funding body agreements and policies Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visitExternal link http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.

(3)Journal Publishing Agreement and Permissions Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see External link http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement. Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult External link http://www.elsevier.com/permissions). If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult External link http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.

Author's rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights; for details you are referred to: External link http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.

On-line submission to the journal prior to acceptance

Submission to this journal proceeds totally on-line. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the homepage of this journal (External link http://www.elsevier.com/journals) you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the Author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.

The above represent a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this "Guide for Authors" section from the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.

Electronic format requirements for accepted articles

General points
We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety.

Wordprocessor documents
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. Do not embed 'graphically designed' equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier: External link http://www.elsevier.com/guidepublication). Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.

To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spellchecker' function of your wordprocessor.

Preparation of manuscripts

1. Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts checked by an English-speaking colleague prior to submission.
English language help service: Upon request, Elsevier will direct Authors to an agent who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact External link www.elsevier.com/locate/elsevierpublishing for further information.

2. Manuscripts should be prepared with numbered lines, with wide margins and double spacing throughout, i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered. Authors are requested to submit, with their manuscripts, the names and contact details of four potential referees. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections.
3. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following order:
•Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long)
•Name(s) of author(s)
•Complete postal address(es) of affiliations
•Full telephone, Fax. no. and E-mail of the corresponding author
•Present address(es) of author(s) if applicable
•Complete correspondence address to which the proofs should be sent
•Abstract
•Key words (indexing terms), normally 3-6 items
•Introduction
•Material studied, area descriptions, methods, techniques
•Results
•Discussion (Results, and Discussion should be two separate sections)
•Conclusion
•Acknowledgements and any additional information concerning research grants, etc.
•References
•Tables
•Figure captions
4. In typing the manuscript, titles and subtitles should not be run within the text. They should be typed on a separate line, without indentation. Use lower-case lettertype.
5. Elsevier reserves the privilege of returning to the author for revision accepted manuscripts and illustrations which are not in the proper form given in this guide.
6. With the submitted manuscript authors are requested to provide full contact details of four potential reviewers including email addresses. The suggested reviewers should not be people at the same institution as the author, Scientia Horticulturae Editors or Editorial Board members, and at least two should be from other geographic regions.

Abstracts

The abstract should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words.

Tables

1. Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and lay-out of the journal. Large tables should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions of a table.
2. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables.
3. Tables should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.
4. Each table should be typewritten on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should never be included in the text.
5. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.
6. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.
7. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead.
8. Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.

Preparation of electronic illustrations

Submitting your artwork in an electronic format helps us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.

General points
•Always supply high-quality printouts of your artwork, in case conversion of the electronic artwork is problematic.
•Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
•Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
•Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol.
•Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
•Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files, and supply a separate listing of the files and the software used.
•Provide all illustrations as separate files.
•Provide captions to illustrations separately.
•Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, 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: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".


Please do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
• Supply files that are optimised for screen use(like GIF,BMP,PIC,WPG) the resolution is too low ;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Colour illustrations

If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.


Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white prints corresponding to all the colour illustrations.

Markk the appropriate Position of a figure in the article.

Supplementary files

Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high- resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier web products, including ScienceDirect:http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

References

1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of author's names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed – if necessary – by a short reference to appropriate pages. Examples: "Since Peterson (1988) has shown that ..." "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1989, pp. 12-16)".
3. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors the name of the first author should be used followed by "et al.". This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In this list names of first author and co-authors should be mentioned.
4. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically on authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication dates – publications of the same author with one co-author – publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1974a, l974b, etc.
5. Use the following system for arranging your references:
a. For periodicals
Schmitt, E.R., Feucht, W., 1993. Content of linolenic acid in senescing cherry leaves. Sci. Hortic. 55, 273–282.
b. For edited symposia, special issues, etc. published in a periodical
Rice, K., 1992. Theory and conceptual issues. In: Gall, G.A.E., Staton, M. (Eds.), Integrating Conservation Biology and Agricultural Production. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 42, 9–26.
c. For books
Gaugh, Jr., H.G., 1992. Statistical Analysis of Regional Yield Trials. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
d. For multi-author books
Baker, Jr., 1993. Insects. In: De Hertogh, A., Le Nard, M. (Eds.), The Physiology of Flower Bulbs. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 101–153.
6. Abbreviate the titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references according to the International List of Periodical Title Word Abbreviations.
7. In the case of publications in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
8. Work accepted for publication but not yet published should be referred to as "in press".
9. References concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text.

The digital object identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal Physics Letters B;

When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed, never to change.

Formulae

1. Subscripts and superscripts should be clear.
2. Give the meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
3. For simple fractions use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line.
4. Equations should be numbered serially at the right-hand side in parentheses. In general only equations explicitly referred to in the text need be numbered.
5. The use of fractional powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
6. Levels of statistical significance which can be mentioned without further explanation are * P<0.05, ** P<0.0l and *** P<0.00l.
7. In chemical formulae, valence of ions should be given as, e.g., Ca2+, not as Ca++.
8. Isotope numbers should precede the symbols, e.g.,18O.
9. The repeated writing of chemical formulae in the text is to be avoided where reasonably possible; instead, the name of the compound should be given in full. Exceptions may be made in the case of a very long name occurring very frequently or in the case of a compound being described as the end product of a gravimetric determination (e.g., phosphate as P2O5).

Footnotes

1. Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential. In most cases it should be possible to incorporate the information in normal text.
2. If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated by superscript numbers, and kept as short as possible.

Nomenclature

1. Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological nomenclature, as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
2. All biotica (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals.
3. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. Active ingredients of all formulations should be likewise identified.
4. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the official recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.

Proofs

One set of proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7(or higher) available free from External link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: External link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post.
Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

The Publisher reserves the right to proceed with publication if corrections are not communicated.
Return corrections within 3 working days of receipt of the proofs. Should there be no corrections, please confirm this.


Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.

UNESCO coupons are acceptable in payment of extra offprints.

Information about Scientia Horticulturae is available on the World Wide Web at the following address: External link http://www.elsevier.com/locate/scihorti.

Scientia Horticulturae has no page charges.

Scientia Horticulturae is abstracted/indexed in: Current Contents (A, B and ES), Research Alert, SciSearch, Science Citation Index; BIOSIS (Previews), Biological Abstracts; CAB Abstracts; Current Awareness in Biological Sciences (CABS); Geobase, Ecological Abstracts; EMBiology; PASCAL. Also covered in the abstract and citation database Scopus. Full text available on ScienceDirect.
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