Instructions for Authors

Manuscripts published in JPPR are free of charge.

Before submitting the manuscript the Authors must read very carefully the Instructions for Authors and prepare their manuscript accordingly. Please read the Ethical Standards as well.

JPPR publishes original research papers, short communications, critical reviews, and book reviews covering all areas of modern plant protection. Subjects include phytopathological virology, bacteriology, mycology, applied nematology and entomology as well as topics concerning the protection of crop plants and stocks of crop products against diseases, viruses, weeds, etc. Submitted manuscripts should provide new facts or confirmatory data.

All manuscripts should be written in high-quality English. Non-English native authors should seek appropriate help from English-writing professionals before submission.

The day the manuscript reaches the editors for the first time is given upon publication as the date ‘received’ and the day the version, corrected by the authors is accepted by the reviewers, is given as the date ‘revised’. All papers are available free of charge at the Journal’s webpage (http://www.plantprotection.pl).

Notice that each manuscript after submission is checked by anti-plagiarism iThenticate software. Manuscripts which have more than 30% similarity will be rejected.


All authors must suggest three potential reviewers for their paper upon submission (please include institutional email addresses ONLY for all reviewers).
The suggested referees should:

(i) not be close collaborators of the author(s)
(ii) not be located in the same institution as the author(s) and
(iii) not all be from the home country.

Avoid suggesting colleagues you have published with previously as this creates a potential conflict of interest. Do not suggest any Editor of this journal.

General information for preparing a manuscript
All texts should be written in a concise and integrated way, focusing on major points, findings, breakthroughs or discoveries, and their broad significance. All running text should be in Times New Roman 12, 1.5 spacing with 2.5 cm margins on all sides.


In the final proof of the manuscript corrections should have been made as below:

Page:
Is:
Should be:

Or it should be as a pdf file.

It is not allowed to send corrections made in Word file.

Highlights are mandatory for this journal. They consist of a short collection of bullet points (4–5) that convey the core findings of the article.

Highlights help increase the discoverability of your article via search engines. These bullet points should capture the novel results of your research as well as new methods that were used during the study (if any). Think of them as the "elevator pitch" of your article. Please include terms that you know your readers will be looking for online. Don't try to capture all ideas, concepts or conclusions as highlights are meant to be short: 85 characters or fewer, including spaces.

Highlights offer your paper a considerable advantage in the online world, as they ensure that search engines pick up your article and match it to the right audience. (Nowadays, machines read your work just as often as humans do!). Highlights have been proven to widen the reach of your work and help to ensure that your article is brought to the attention of interested colleagues, both inside and outside your usual research community. Apart from a wider distribution of your research, we hope that this will also lead to new collaborations and help accelerate the pace of science.

The small print

Not part of editorial consideration and aren't required until the final files stage

Only required for full research articles

Each Highlight can be no more than 85 characters, including spaces

No jargon, acronyms, or abbreviations: aim for a general audience and use keywords

Consider the reader - Highlights are the first thing they'll see

Manuscript submission

Submit the manuscript electronically to the Editorial System on the journal website (http://www.plantprotection.pl). The manuscript should be submitted in the following separate files:

Manuscript body including title, abstract, keywords, content/text of the article and the references.

Tables (how to prepare see instructions below).

Figures (how to prepare see instructions below).

The authors must also remember to upload a scan of a completed License to Publish via the Editorial System. The License to Publish is available in the Editorial System.

The manuscript files should be blinded:
The authors are fully responsible for the manuscript's (also its revised versions and accompanying letter to reviewers) anonymization.
– Names of authors, e-mail addresses and affiliations must be removed.
– Do not add any page headers or footers that would identify you.
– Avoid, or try to minimize, any self-citation. If you have cited your own work, make sure you have
referred to your own references in the third person, e.g. write “Kowalski et al. (2021) have
shown”, not “We have previously shown (Kowalski et al. 2021)”
– Remove all personal identifiers from your files such as MicrosoftTM Word® documents and other
attachments (figures, tables).

Name(s) of author(s) with affiliations footnoted added only to the system, not visible in the manuscript (Double Blind Reviews). The names of the authors should be given in the following order: first name, second name initial, surname. Affiliations should contain: name of institution, faculty, department, city, and country. All Authors should also provide their ORCID iD, identifier (https://orcid.org/register).

Manuscript file layout

Original article

An original article should not exceed 25,000 characters (with spaces) - without tables and figures.

Original research articles should contain the following sections:

• Title (Times New Roman 13) – the title should be unambiguous, understandable to specialists in other fields, and must reflect the contents of the paper. No abbreviations may be used in the title.
  
  
• Abstract (Times New Roman 12) – information given in the title does not need to be repeated in the abstract. The abstract should be no longer than 300 words. It must contain the aim of the study, methods, results and conclusions. If used, abbreviations should be limited and must be explained when first used.
  
  
• Keywords (Times New Roman 12) – a maximum of 6. They should cover the most specific terms found in the paper. They should describe the subject and results and must differ from words used in the title.
  
  
• Introduction (Times New Roman 13) – a brief review of relevant research (with references to the most important and recent publications) should lead to the clear formulation of the working hypothesis and aim of the study. It is recommended to indicate what is novel and important in the study.
  
  
• Materials and Methods (Times New Roman 13) – in this section the description of experimental procedures should be sufficient to allow replication. Organisms must be identified by theier scientific names, including authors. The International System of Units (SI) and their abbreviations should be used. Methods of statistical processing, including the software used, should also be listed in this section.
  
  
• Results (Times New Roman 13) – should be presented clearly and concisely without deducting and theorizing. Graphs are preferred over tables to express quantitative data.
  
  
• Discussion (Times New Roman 13) – should contain an interpretation of the results ( without unnecessary repetition) and explain the influence of experimental factors or methods. It should describe how the results and their interpretation relate to the scientific hypothesis and/or aim of the study. The discussion should take into account the current state of knowledge and up-to-date literature. It should highlight the significance and novelty of the paper. It may also point to further steps that will lead to a better understanding of the matters in question.
  
  
• Acknowledgements (Times New Roman 12) – of people, grants, funds, etc. are to be placed in a separate section before the reference list. The names of funding organizations must be written in full.
  
  
• References (Times New Roman 12)

References

In the text, papers having more than two authors, please cite by the last name of the first author, followed by et al. (et al. in italics), a space, and the year of publication.

example:
Smith et al. (2012).

If the cited manuscript has two authors, the citation should include both last names, a space, and the publication year

example:
Marconi and Johnston (2006).

Two or more articles in the same year and by the same author(s) should be indicated by the letters: a, b, c.

example:
(Sadowski 2016, 2018a, 2018b, 2023)

When citing multiple works parenthetically, place the citations in chronological order, separating them with semicolons.

example:
(Monk et al. 2018; Jorjani 2019; Fox et al. 2022).

It is not acceptable to write in the Reference "et al.", eg. Moudrok L. et al.; "et al." can only be given in the text.

In the Reference section, all authors of the cited paper must be given. All references cited in the text must be listed in the Reference section alphabetically by the last names of the author(s) and then chronologically. The year of publication follows the authors’ names. All titles of the cited articles should be given in English. Please limit the citation of papers published in languages other than English. If a cited article has an English title and abstract, the English title must be provided with information concerning the original language in brackets (e.g. in Spanish).

The list of references should only include works from the last 10 years that have had the greatest impact on the subject (max. 2 auto-citations). Older references can be cited only if they are important for manuscript content.

The title of a journal must not be abbreviated. For example, the Journal of Plant Protection Research can not abbreviated to J. Plant Prot. or JPPR.
All words of the journal title begin with an upper case letter.

Reference links
Increased discoverability of research and high quality peer review are ensured by online links to the sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as Scopus, CrossRef and Google Scholar, please ensure that the data provided in the references are correct. Please note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination may prevent link creation. When copying references, please be careful as they already may contain errors.

Use of the DOI is highly encouraged.
An example of a citation using DOI for an article: https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPS2016.1427
A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it as a permanent link to any electronic article.

The following system for arranging references should be used:

Journal articles
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. Year of publication. Title of article. Title of Journal [Do not use abbreviations in the journal titles] Volume and (Issue number – issue in pharentheses): and page number(s) [with En Dash]. DOI number (full, with https). Do not use italics for manuscript or journal title.

Jorjani M., Heydari A., Zamanizadeh H.R., Rezaee S., Naraghi L., Zamzami P. 2012. Controlling sugar beet mortality disease by application of new bioformulations. Journal of Plant Protection Research 52 (3): 303–307. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10045-012-0049-9

Journal article from electronic database
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. Year of publication. Title of article. Title of Journal [Do not use abbreviations in the journal titles] Volume(Issue number): page number(s) [if applicable, with En Dash]. [Online] [Available from: name of database] [Accessed date viewed]. DOI number if any.

Zhao J. 2008. Prospect of concentrating solar power in China: the sustainable future. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 12 (9): 2505–2514. [Online] [Available from: Science Direct] [Accessed 14 February 2021].

Journal article from a website
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. Year of publication. Title of an article. Title of a Journal. Volume (Issue number): pages. [Online] [Available from: website address] [Accessed date viewed]. DOI number if any.

Delbeke D., Segall G. 2010. We can’t control the future, but we can plan for it. The Journal of Nuclear Medicine 52 (11): 12–18. [Online] [Available from: http://jnm.snmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/52/3/24N] [Accessed 15 October 2010].

Only research papers should be cited in reference.

Books
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. Year of publication. Title of a Book. ed. [if not 1st edition]. Publisher name, Place of Publication, number of pages. DOI number if any.

Bancrof J.D., Stevens A. 1996. Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques. 4th ed. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, UK, 776 pp.

Book chapters
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. Year of publication. Title of chapter (lowercase letters). Chapter page number(s). In: "Title of a Book" (Editor(s) of the book containing the contribution, ed.(s)). Publisher's name, Place of Publication, full number of book pages. DOI number if any.

Pradhan S.K. 2000. Integrated pest management. p. 463-469. In: "IPM System in Agriculture. Cash Crop" (R.K. Upadhyaya, K.G. Mukerji, O.P. Dubey, eds.). Aditya Books Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, India, 234 pp.

Conference or Workshop materials (only published)
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. Year of publication. Title of the presentation(lowercase letters). page number(s). In: Proceedings of "Title of the conference". Date of the conference, Place of the conference.

Bradley C.A., Lamey H.A. 2005. Canola disease situation in North Dakota, U.S.A. p. 1993−2004. In: Proceedings of the 14th Australian Research Assembly on Brassicas. 3−7 October 2005, Port Lincoln, Australia.

Nomenclature, abbreviations, and units
The Latin binomial or trinomial (in italics) and authority must be shown for all plants, insects, and pathogens when first used in either the abstract, the main text, or in a table. SI units should be used, e.g.: mg, g, km, m, cm, mm, ppm, cpm, Ci (Curie), l (liter), ml, s (seconds), min (minute), h (hour), mol, etc. Use mg · l^–1 instead of mg/l, g · m^–2 instead of g/m² or ml × pot^–1 instead of ml/pot. Units must be indicated for each occurrence of numerical information and at the axes of all graphs. To express a unit of measurement, use a space between the number and the unit (5 g; 20 ha) except for percentages (37%) and degrees (3°C). In a series of measurements, indicate the unit at the end (3, 6, and 8 mm). Abbreviate units only after a numeric value (24 h; several hours later). Isotope numbers should precede the symbols (e.g., 18O). The decimal marker is a point (e.g., 0.1 m), while the thousand’s separator is a coma on either side of the decimal period (e.g., 25,562.987,05). The decimal point in all numbers between 1 and –1, except 0, must be preceded by 0 (e.g., 0.26). In general, use words for numbers one through nine, and use digits for 10 and over. For a series of numbers, any of which are over 10, use all digits. Do not use the MathType or MS Word Equations editor for symbols or variables written in the running article text (use the Symbol letters). Currency. Use euro or U.S. dollar as a currency in the computations and results.

Currency Use euro or U.S. dollar as a currency in the computations and results. Currency codes based on the ISO 4217 Currency Code norm should be used (EUR, USD). When a monetary unit is referred to generally but an amount is not included, it is spelled out in letters, except in tables (e.g., an amount in euros). In the text, use: EUR 30; EUR 30 per year per ha; EUR 10 million. In tables, for the main unit for a column (table), use: (EUR), (million EUR).

Tables, Figures, Photographs, Drawings

Tables and figures should be uploaded as separate files at the submission stage. Their place in the manuscript should be clearly indicated by the authors.

All illustrative material must be of publication quality. Photographs and RGB bitmaps should be provided in JPG or TIFF file format. They must have no less than 300 dpi resolution. The text column should be 8 cm wide and must be at least 1000 pixels wide. Please send original (not resized) photograph(s), straight from a digital camera, without any text descriptions on the photo. All photos, graphs, illustrations and diagrams must be referred to as a figure and numbered (Fig. 1), according to the order in which they are included in the text, using Arabic numerals. Abbreviations or symbols used in the figures must be explained either in the figure title or as a footnote.

Bitmaps combined with text object descriptions should be provided in MS Word or MS Powerpoint format. Text objects using Arial font-face should be editable (changing font-face or font size).

Drawings should be provided in MS Word, MS Powerpoint, CorelDRAW or EPS file format and stored with the original data file. Text objects using Arial font-face should be editable (changing font-face or font size).

Charts (MS Excel graphs) should be provided in MS Excel file format, and stored with original MS Excel data file without captions but with the number of the figure attached. Please do not use bitmap fills for bar charts. Use color fills only if necessary.

Captions and legends should be added at the end of the text, referred to as "Fig." and numbered consecutively throughout the paper.

Rapid communications

Rapid communications should present brief observations which do not warrant the length of a full paper. However, they must present completed studies and follow the same scientific standards as original articles.
Rapid communications should contain the following sections:

• Title
• Abstract - less than 300 words
• Key words - maximum 6
• Text body
• Acknowledgements
• References

The length of such submissions is limited to 10,000 words for the text, one table, and one figure.

Reviews

Review articles are invited by the editors. Unsolicited reviews can also be considered. The length is limited to 35 000 words with no limitations on figures and tables and a maximum of 150 references.

Mini-Review articles should be dedicated to "hot" topics and limited to 3,000 words with a maximum of two figures, two tables and 20 references.