Instructions For Contributors

General

Annals of Plant and Soil Research (APSR) is published Quarterly in the month of March, June, September and December of the G.K.V. Society. It is being published regularly since establishment of the society in 1999. It is a broad based, peer-reviewed, leading journal. It is of special interest to; Agronomists, Soil Scientists, Botanists, Ecologists, Microbiologist, Environmental Scientists, Horticulturists, Plant Breeder, fertilizer industry and others engaged in Plant, Soil and Environmental Research. The detailed guidelines (available on our society website www.apsragra.org) for submission of research paper are given below.

Aims and Scope

Annals of Plant and Soil Research publishes original research papers dealing with all the aspects of Agronomy, Horticulture, Soil Science, Genetics and Plant Breeding, Plant Physiology, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Pollution, Forestry and related fields.

The journal publishes full length comprehensive research papers based on new approaches/findings in English. Short communications based on one year data are also published. Review articles are also published, but these are specifically solicited by the editorial board.

The research paper/short note submitted for publication must not have been submitted elsewhere. The research paper should contain data not older than 5 years on the date of its receipt in society office. There is no prescribed upper limit regarding the number of pages in case of full length research paper. However, the length of research paper should not be less than three full printed pages of the journal. Research papers will be published only when they are based on data of a minimum of 2 years.

Research papers should be divided in to following sub sections:

Title, Affiliation, Abstract, Key words, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement (if any) and References The heading Conclusion need not be mentioned in the text. Tables and figures should be appended at the end of text. Short notes will have Title, Affiliation and References but no sub headings in the subsequent text.

Title

Title of the article should be informative but concise, and should not contain abbreviations. It should be set in capital letters. A short title not exceeding 6 words should also be given for running headlines. The names and initials of authors should be typed in capital letters. Name of laboratory, department followed by the name of the institution organization university where the work reported in the paper was carried out shall come below the name (s) of authors. Complete postal address including the name of city/, town/district, state and PIN should be furnished. E-mail Id of the corresponding author should be given as a footnote.

Abstract

Abstract should be in single paragraph and should indicate methods used, significant findings with data range and conclusion. It should be a form such that abstracting agencies may use it without change.

Keywords

Keywords should adequately index the subject matter, and should not be superfluous.

Introduction

Introduction should precisely include the aims of the study. It should be as concise as possible with no sub-headings. Exhaustive reviewing of literature should be avoided. It should briefly state the currently available information on the subject duly supported by recent and relevant literature.

Materials and Methods

Materials and methods should comprise the materials used in the investigation, methods of experiment and analysis adopted. It should begin with information relating to period/season/year place of study, climate and weather condition, soil type including physico-chemical properties and others as relevant to the study. The geographical position of the experimental site should be identified with the help of coordinates (latitude and longitude) and altitude. Known methods of analysis should be indicated by referring to the original source, avoiding detailed description. References for the methods used in the study should be cited. It the techniques are widely familiar use only their names in that case. Treatment details alongwith experimental design, replications should be indicated. Use of symbols for treatments may be avoided. The variety of crop, methodology for application of treatments, fertilization, irrigation harvesting etc. should be given. A brief description of the observations recorded should be given. All statistical comparisons among treatments may be made at P=0.05 level of probability.

Results and Discussion

Results and Discussion should be combined. Results may be split in to suitable sub-heading, typed in italics. This section should discuss the salient points of observation and critical interpretation thereof. Relate the results to your objectives. While discussing the results, particular attention should be given to the problem, question or hypothesis presented in the Introduction. Any principles, relationships and generalizations that can be supported by the results should be elaborated. Discussion should be strengthened by explaining treatment effects in terms of cause and effect relationship. Scientific speculation is encouraged but it should be reasonable and firmly founded in observations. When results differ from previous results, possible explanations should be given. Controversial issues should be discussed clearly. References to published work should be cited in the text by the name(s) of author (s) and the year e.g. Prasad (2005), Singh and Singh (1996). Incase of more than two authors, surname of the first author followed by etc. and the year should be cited in the text e.g. Singh et al. (2013). If two or more papers were published by the same author in one year, distinction of these should be made by adding a, b, c, etc.

Conclusion

The word Conclusion need not be typed as a heading and may be given as a last paragraph of Results and Discussion. It should clearly crystallize the summary of the results obtained alongwith their implication in solution of the practical problems or contribution to the advancement of the scientific knowledge.

Acknowledgement

The author(s) may place on record the help and cooperation or financial help received from any source, person or organization. This should be very brief and omitted, if not necessary. Routine acknowledgements to the heads of department, institute or organization for providing facilities to conduct the study should be avoided as it is their duty to do so.

References

Every reference cited in the research paper should be included in the list of References. Reference should be arranged alphabetically according to the surnames of the individual authors or first authors. The references should include names of all authors, year (within brackets), full title of the research paper, full name of the journal (in italics/volume number bold), issue number (in bracket, not bold) and starting and ending pages of paper. For punctuation, a latest issue of the journal must be consulted. The abbreviations et al., idem and ibid should not be used in reference section. Unpublished research including online and personal communication should not be cited in the text and the Reference sections. "References must be checked with the original source. For book, the name of the publisher should also given as well as its volume, edition and relevant page range. The list of references should be typed as follows:

Majumdar, K., Jat, M.L. and Shahi, V.B. (2012) Effect of spatial and temporal variability in cropping seasons and tillage practices on maize yield responses in eastern India. Better crops. South Asia 6(1): 8-10.

Singh, V., Singh. S. and Singh, H. (2010) Effect of balanced fertilization on nutrient uptake, yield and profits with potato in partially reclaimed sodic soil. Annals of Plant and Soil Research 12(2): 83-85

Tiwari, K.N. and Tiwari, R. (2008) Future outlook of fertilizer recommendations for sustainable high yield agriculture. Annals of Plant and Soil Research 10(2): 103-118.

>Prasad, R. (2005) Rice-wheat cropping system. Advances in Agronomy 86: 255-339.

Marschner, H. (2005) Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants, 6th edition, Academic Press Inc, London, U.K

Tables

Each table should be typed on separate sheet and should have on the top a table number and a short title. Data in the tables should be corrected to minimum place of decimal so as to make it more meaningful. Maximum size of table acceptable is what can be conveniently composed within one full printed page of the journal. All the tables should be placed after references.

Figures

Figures (illustrations, graphs, histograms, photographs etc.) should be prepared in quality art work. Laser printouts of line diagrams are acceptable, white dot matrix print out will be rejected. Illustrations can also be traced on white art card using proper stencil. The numbers and letterings must be stenciled, free hand drawing will not be accepted.

Important Instructions

• Data on field experiments have to be at least for a period of 2-3 years.
• Papers on pot experiment will be considered for publication only as short communication.
• Research paper should contain data not older than 5 years on the date of receipt in Society office
• Research papers should be typed on one side of white A4 size paper, double spaced throughout including abstract, references and tables, leaving adequate margins on all sides. All the pages should be numbered consecutively.
• Authors are not required to send floppy or CD on first submission of the research paper. Only the revised version of accepted article may be sent on floppy or CD or through E-mail.
• Authors are encouraged to send their research papers through E-mail to save time and potage.
• All the contributing authors must be the members of the society
• Type as per APSR format (New Times Roman, Font 12, Double Spaced).
• A sentence should not begin with an abbreviation
• Use % after numbers, not per cent, e.g. 8%. In a series or range of measurements, mention the units only at end, e.g. use 5, 15, 22 and 35^oC, 30 or 40%.
• Numeral should be used whenever it is followed by a unit measure or its abbreviations e.g. 1g, 5m, 7h, 8 months etc.
• Application rates of fertilizer nutrients should be given as 140 kg N + 60 kg P + 40 kg K ha-1.
• For the composition of fertilizers manures, crops or soil, the elemental forms (N, P, Ca etc.) should be used and not the oxides.
• A forwarding letter from the controlling authority is necessary at the time of submission of research paper and the article will not be accepted until the same is received.
• Statistical analysis of data in the standard experimental design should be sound and complete in itself with both SEm+ and CD (P=0.05) values given for comparison of treatment means in tables and figures.
• The Society does not levy any printing charges on the authors of research paper published in the Annals of Plant and Soil Research and no reprints are supplied even when the author is willing to pay for the reprints.
• All weights and measurements must be in SI or metric units. Some of the units along with the corresponding symbols are reproduced for the sake of convenience