Guidelines for Authors of the "Seed and Plant"
The Seed and Plant accepts review articles and original articles developed from the research results in the fields of plant breeding, genetics, biotechnology, agronomy and physiology of field crops, horticultural crops, and medicinal plants, written in Farsi language, according to its guidelines for authors, and have not been previously submitted to any other journal for being published. The received manuscripts will be peer reviewed by reviewers and editorial board of the Seed and Plant. Articles which were presented in the national or international conferences and congresses and their abstracts published in the relevant proceedings are accepted for evaluation and review, should the contents be developed and completed following the standards and formats of the Seed and Plant. Scientific short articles/reports would also be accepted and published.
Technical Guide to Manuscript Writing and Submission (Farsi)
Authors are required to use the style template format accordingly before submission of their manuscripts. Authors are to submit their manuscripts electronically by using the online submission. All manuscripts must be typed in Microsoft Word (.docx) and 1.5 line spacing. Margins are to be set at (3 cm at all sides) and paper size at A4 (21 × 28 cm). The font for Farsi language is B Zar-14 and for English language is Times New Roman-12. The scientific names of plants and other organism species must be written in italic. Footnotes are not encouraged in the text.
For citation of references in the text either of the name –year system is acceptable, e.g. for single author; Richards (2005), (Richards, 2007), for two authors; Reynolds and Trethowan (2006), (Reynolds and Trethowan, 2006), for more than two authors; Ehdaie et al. (2008), (Ehdaie et al., 2008), or (Reynolds and Trethowan, 2006; Richards, 2007; Ehdaie et al., 2008).
Figures: Submit figures in high-resolution. Width of figures should approximate desired print size, i.e., 8 cm for a one column figure, 18 cm for a two column figure. Photographs and drawings for graphs and charts should be prepared with good contrast of dark and light. Give careful attention to the width of lines and size and clarity of type and symbols. A figure caption should be brief, but sufficiently detailed to tell its own story. Specify the crop or soil involved, the major variables presented, and the place and year. Identify curves or symbols in a legend within the figure itself, not in the caption. Define abbreviations in the caption. Define symbols used in the caption or in the legend. Be sure to indicate the scale for micrographs, either in the illustration or the caption.
Tables: Start each table, numbered sequentially. Prepare tables with the tables feature in your word processor; do not use tabs, spaces, or graphics boxes. Tables should read from left to right. Each datum needs to be contained in an individual cell. Table heads should be brief but complete and self-contained. Define all variables and spell out abbreviations on first mention in tables, even if they have already been defined in the text. The reader should be able to understand the table content without referring back to the text. Individual values in the body may be highlighted in bold or italic type or underlined, but shading is not allowed. In the body of a table, only the first word in a row should be capitalized (the exception would be proper nouns, which should always be capitalized). Tables should be placed immediately after first mentioned in the text or on the top of the following page. The * and ** are always used in this order to show statistical significance at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels, respectively, and cannot be used for other notes.
The manuscript contents should not exceed 15 pages. Should reviewers and editorial board of the Seed and Plant accept the manuscript, the author (s) will be informed accordingly.
Note: Authors are encouraged to conform to the Technical Guidelines as given, if they want their manuscript to be considered for publication.
Sections of Article (Persian))
Title
Title should be short and covers the article contents properly. It should not exceed 25 words.
Abstract
Abstract should be 200 words and in one concise paragraph only. An abstract must be fully self-contained, capsule description of the article, and meet the word count limitation.
Keywords: Five keywords separated by a comma (,) and not repeated in the title.
Introduction
Introduction introduces the research background, issues and logics why this study was undertaken, and defines what was the research questions, the hypothesis to tested or the purposes of the research. The introduction requires a short review of the literature pertaining to the research topic, starting with broad topics and be slowly focusing on the work at hand described at around four paragraphs.
One to two paragraphs introduce the reader to the general field of the study. The subsequent paragraphs describe how an aspect of this field could be improved. The final paragraph is critical, it clearly states in the first sentence of the paragraph the research questions that the research will answer. The entire introduction should logically end at the research questions and thesis statements or hypothesis. A summary sentence may be added stating how the answer of your question will contribute to the overall of the study.
Introduction is a critical summary, classification, and evaluation of existing theory and research on your topics. It addresses a specific and well-defined questions or set of questions, that outlines the background and history of your research problems, identifies possible methods for your study, assess the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies, provide a conceptual framework and rationale of your study.
Materials and Methods
Materials and method section describes: when, where and how was the study carried out. What materials were used or when and where the experiments carried out. The description includes: approach/context of the study, participants, instrument, procedures, data analysis techniques. Materials and methods section should be straightforward and clear description of the materials and methods used in your study. Each material/method should be described in a separate section. Begin in a single section with a statement of the materials used in this study so that readers have the capability to repeat the work in their own intention. Next, describe in separate sections each key procedure and technique used in the study. Keep the explanation brief and concise. Write the materials and method section in the past form. Passive voices are probably most appropriate.
Results and Discussion
Result section is presented in adherence to the research questions. It presents the results of data analysis. You should provide an overview of primary results at the first section, and flow the results in a step-by-step fashion. This overview should follow directly the data analysis plan stated in the material and method section. It requires you fully describe the results of data analysis so that readers can gauge how the findings of your study answer the research questions. Then, present primarily findings followed by any secondary and subgroup findings. Use table, figures to demonstrate the characteristics of major findings. Try to interpret results considering weather conditions, agronomic practices, soil conditions, treatments, genotypes, interactions, etc. to describe why these results were achieved. Avoid redundancy between text, tables, figures, or excerpts.
The purpose of discussion is to highlight the major findings from the results, and compare them with results of other researchers to delineate the similarity and differences. Then discuss the similarity and differences with scientific reasons and technical evidences. Try to integrate the findings into the results of other studies you have cited in the literature review in introduction section.
At the end of this section, briefly summarize the overall conclusion of the data analysis based on the purposes of the study. Typically, in conclusion the author (s) should: summarize and conclude the results of analysis by restating the main argument, and presenting key conclusions and recommendation. State how the finding applies to the world of practice. State what are the implication for further research.
Acknowledgement
If you received any significant helps in designing, carrying out the work, or received materials and funding from someone who did you a favor by supplying them, you must acknowledge their assistance and the services or materials provided.
Conflict of Interest
Author (s) should write a short statement about lack of conflict of interests among themselves or with any other legal or natural person.
References
References include; articles from peer reviewed journals, book, chapter in an edited book, congress/conference papers/abstracts, thesis, internet sources, etc. Authors must make sure that some of the references are current published within the last five years adhering to 10-15% of the total references. Add DOIs and persistent links to those references that have DOIs. Examples:
Article of peer reviewed journal:
Arzani, K. 2002. Introduction of some Asian pear cultivars (Pyrus pyrifolia) to Iran. Acta Horticulturae, 596, pp.278-290. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.596.45
Seyedi, M. and Abdollahi, H. 2022. Association of Resistance Level to the Fire Blight (Erwinia amylovora) Disease with Chloroplastic and Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in Two Pear Cultivars Harrow Sweet and Bartlett. Seed and Plant Journal, 38, pp.71-90 (In Persian) DOI: 10.22092/SPJ.2023.360114.1276
Rodrigues, P.C., Malosetti, M., Gauch, H.G. and van Eeuwijk, F.A. 2014. A weighted AMMI algorithm to study genotype-by-environment interaction and QTL-by-environment interaction. Crop Science, 54 (4), pp.1555-1570. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2013.07.0462
Yan, W., Fregeau-Reid, J.A., Pageau, D., Martin, R.A., Mitchell Fetch, J.W., Etienne, M., Rowsell, J., Scott, P., Price, M., De Haan, B., Cummiskey, A. Lajeunesse, J., Durand, J. and Sparry, E. 2010. Identifying essential test locations for oat breeding in eastern Canada. Crop Science, 50, pp.504-515. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2009.03.0133
Book:
Koocheki, A., Jami Ahmadi, M.B., Kamkar, B. and Mahdavi Damghani, A.M. 2001. Principles of agricultural ecology. Jihad-e-Daneshgahi of Mashhad University Publications. Mashhad, Iran. 471 pp. (In Persian).
Yan, W. and Kang, M. S. 2019. GGE biplot analysis: A graphical tool for breeders, geneticists, and agronomists. CRC Press. Boca Raton, Florida, USA. 288 pp. DOI: 10.1201/9781420040371
Chapter in an edited Book:
Dickinson, H.G. and Bonner, L. J. 1989. Pollination. Pp. 133-157. In: Wright, C. J. (ed.) Manipulation of fruiting. Butterworths Publisher, New Zealand.
Fischer, M. 2009. Pear breeding. Pp. 135-160. In: Jain, S. M., and Priyadarshan P. M. (eds.) Breeding plantation tree crops: Temperate species. Springer Press, Germany.
Anonymous. 2009. FAO Statistical data. Available on: www.faostat.org.
FAO. 2022. World food and agriculture-statistical yearbook. Food and Agriculture Organization Publication. Rome, Italy. 254 pp. https://www.fao.org/3/cc2211en/cc2211en.pdf
Anonymous. 2014. Statistical year book of agricultural crops. 1st Volume: Filed Crops. Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Tehran, Iran. (in Persian). 165 pp.
Thesis:
Arzani, K. 1994. Horticultural and physiological aspects of vigor control in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) under orchard and controlled environment conditions. Ph. D. Thesis. Massey University. New Zealand. 355 pp.
Technical Publication:
Hosseinifard, S.J. and Alipour, H. 2004. Diagnostics and removal of nutrients deficiency of pistachio. Technical Publication No. 82/500. Pistachio Research Institute, Rafsanjan, Iran (In Persian). 28 pp.
Conference/Congress Papers:
Fichtner, E., Yun Chao, Y., Verreynne, J.S., Tang, L., Ferguson, L. and Lovatt, C.J. 2017. Repeating cycles of on and off yields in alternate bearing olive, pistachio and citrus different mechanisms, common solutions. Pp. 96. In: Proceedings of the First International Horticultural Science Conference of Iran, Tehran, Iran (Abstarct).
Should the paper is an abstract, at the end of the reference write the word abstract in parenthesis, e. g. (Abstract).
Online article:
Koundinya, A., Ajeesh, B., Hegde, V., Sheela, M., Mohan C. and Asha, K. 2021. Genetic parameters, stability and selection of cassava genotypes between rainy and water stress conditions using AMMI, WAAS, BLUP and MTSI. Scientia Horticulturae, 281,109949. DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2021.109949
Guidelines for Extended Abstract (English)
Extended abstracts must contain all relevant aspects and information of a regular research in a form that is shorter than the full text. Subtitles of the extended abstract should be composed of abstract and keywords, introduction and objective, materials and method, results and discussion, and few references. It shall be written in English with Times New Roman font, 1.5 line spacing and 12 font size and can contain figures, tables, or images. Page margins are three centimeters on all sides. It is written in A4 paper size and should not exceed 3-4 pages or from 1000 to 1500 words excluding the references. It should follow the suggested template below.
Title: Times New Roman, 12 Font Size, Bold, Capitalized each word, Centered, and not exceeds 25 words.
Abstract: Abstract should be written with Times New Roman, 12 font size, justified, 1.5 line spacing. Objectives, methods and findings are summarized in abstract. This section should not exceed 150 words.
Keywords: Keywords should be written with Times New Roman, 12 font size. Up to maximum five words which are not repeated in the title.
Introduction: Introduction should be written with Times New Roman, 12 font size, justified, 1.5 line spacing. Current literature regarding the work subject should be examined and the differences and similarities of the reviewed works should be delineated clearly in the introduction section. The research gap and objectives of the present work have to be presented. Introduction does not exceed 200 words.
Materials and Methods: The Materials and methods should be written with Times New Roman, 12 font size, justified, 1.5 line spacing. This section must be clearly stated and described in sufficient details or with sufficient references. The author shall explain the research question, describe the research framework, and the methods applied in detail. It should be furthermore highlighted why the research question is relevant to theory and practice, and why the chosen materials and methods were suitable. This section should not exceed 200 words.
Result and Discussion: Results and discussion should be written with Times New Roman, 12 font size, justified, 1.5 line spacing. Presentation of the result obtained. If possible, use descriptive figures or tables rather than explain in text. Do not discuss or interpret the results at this stage. Discuss the results. Present your results in perspective by comparing and delineating differences and similarities to other studies or generally accepted knowledge in the field. Criticize your own materials and methods and results, with respect to the simplifications made. This section should not exceed 250 words.
References: References should be written with Times New Roman, 12 font size, justified, 1.5 line spacing. A few reference must be presented, not more than 3-4 references. References should be listed in alphabetical order, and presented in a commonly accepted format but in a consistent style to the guidelines for authors.
Some Necessary Remarks