Current Topics in Agronomic Science is an international, annual, bilingual, open-access journal published electronically by the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (UACh), which publishes scientific articles in three formats: research articles, scientific notes, and review articles.
The manuscripts published by CTASci cover the following topics:
Agroindustry. Fresh and processed foods; food preservation and transformation; functional and innovative foods; agri-food bioprocesses; sensory analysis; food safety; non-food agroindustry; biofermentations; separation processes; omics sciences; food microbiology; food identity; designations of origin; food rheology; 3-D food printing; active and intelligent packaging; post-harvest technology; pharmacognosy; essential oils; properties of natural products; modeling of biological systems; Industry 4.0.
Animal science. Feeding and food resource management; assessment and sustainable use of livestock genetic resources; animal welfare, safety, and quality of livestock products; environmental impact of livestock systems; livestock system modeling.
Biotechnology and agricultural sciences. Agricultural biotechnology; plant tissue culture; plant genetic engineering; plant breeding; growth regulators; plant nutrition; plant physiology; phytochemistry; staple and industrial crops; agricultural production systems; bioenergetics. Post-harvest and culinary quality; plant protection; pest and disease control; Agriculture 4.0; mechanization in agricultural systems; biological control; weed management; food safety; certifications; aquaculture.
Natural resources. Design, management, and evaluation of agroecosystems; processes for the generation and appropriation of agroecological technologies; multifunctional agriculture, organic agriculture; climate change; natural resources and biodiversity; conservation of natural resources; watersheds; irrigation and drainage; regional analysis of natural resources; sustainable management of natural resources; territorial organization; geography of natural resources; pollution and environmental remediation; wastewater treatment.
Socioeconomic and educational sciences. Economics and rural development; economic development of the agricultural sector; agribusiness management and development; national and international trade in agricultural and forestry products; bioeconomy; circular economy; innovation management; social theory; producer organization and rural development; agricultural education; agricultural extension; feminism and gender. Impact of feminism and gender factors on the development of agricultural production systems.
Soil science. Plant fertility and nutrition; sustainable management of production systems; soil physics and chemistry; soil conservation; pollution and environmental remediation; irrigation and drainage.
CTASci publishes manuscripts in three formats, with the following typology and general characteristics:
Research article. It is an original scientific manuscript that systematically presents the results of a study developed using the scientific method, with the purpose of generating new knowledge in one of the topics described above. This type of contribution clearly describes the research problem, objectives, methodology used, results obtained, and their critical interpretation, supported by an up-to-date bibliography. The manuscript contains clear, sufficient, and objective information that enables the scientific community to reproduce and validate the study. It is structured in sections: introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and references. The length ranges from 4,000 to 8,000 words (maximum), including bibliographic references.
Scientific note. It is a concise publication format that aims to rapidly and efficiently communicate novel information to the scientific community. It is used to communicate relevant findings, methodological innovations, original observations, or technical developments of scientific interest. Its structure is more compact than that of a full research article, while maintaining the scientific rigor and methodological clarity necessary to ensure the validity of the information presented. It generally begins with a brief and precise title, followed by a short abstract and keywords. Subsequently, it includes a concise introduction that presents the study's context and significance, as well as the contribution's main objective. It is also organized into sections: introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and a list of essential bibliographic references. The length of these contributions varies between 2,500 and 4,000 words.
Review article. It is a scientific contribution whose main purpose is to critically analyze, integrate, and synthesize existing knowledge on a specific topic, identifying advances, trends, research gaps, and future perspectives. Its structure usually begins with a clear and representative title, followed by an abstract and keywords. Subsequently, an introduction is included to justify the importance of the topic, define the scope of the review, and establish the objectives of the work. In systematic reviews or meta-analyses, a methodological section is usually incorporated, describing the literature search strategies, the databases consulted, the inclusion and exclusion criteria for documents, and, in some cases, the statistical analysis methods used. The main body of the article is organized into thematic sections or subtopics that enable the logical and critical development of the gathered information, the comparison of results across different authors, and the highlighting of points of agreement, controversies, and emerging trends. The use of comparative tables, conceptual diagrams, and integrative figures that facilitate the synthesis of the information is also common. The article concludes with a section on conclusions and future perspectives, summarizing the most relevant findings and proposing possible lines of research. Due to their integrative nature, review articles typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 words and contain a large number of specialized bibliographic references.