Current Topics in Agronomic Science is published electronically by the Autonomous University of Chapingo through the Institutional Journals Coordination (CORI, its Spanish acronym). Its structure includes an Advisory Board, an Editorial Board, an Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and administrative staff assigned to CORI, whose functions and responsibilities are described below.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board (AB) is the academic advisory body responsible for helping define the journal's scientific and editorial policies...

Supports the Editor-in-Chief in decision-making.

Contributes to establishing and updating the journal's mission and vision, thematic scope, priority areas of publication, general editorial policies, and strategies for scientific positioning at the national and international levels. It also provides support in proposing adjustments based on new scientific trends and emerging needs in the agricultural and agri-food sectors.

Ensures that the journal maintains scientific, ethical, and editorial quality standards in accordance with international criteria for indexing and scientific publication. To this end, the AB may periodically review editorial indicators, analyze the quality of published articles, evaluate the overall performance of the editorial process, and issue recommendations for continuous improvement.

It may participate in the development, review, and approval of policies on aspects such as editorial ethics, conflicts of interest, plagiarism and similarity, and the use of artificial intelligence, among others.

The AB may propose strategies to increase the journal's quality and visibility, strengthen internationalization, increase the geographic diversity of authors and reviewers, promote special issues, strengthen academic networks, and improve its ranking in indexes and databases.

The AB may suggest strategies related to evaluation and indexing processes in databases and international systems.

Also, it may issue recommendations on scientific integrity, editorial practices, and conflict resolution.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board (EB) is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the journal's editorial process, including the preliminary evaluation of manuscripts, the assignment and monitoring of reviewers, the supervision of peer review, the monitoring of compliance with editorial and ethical policies, and ensuring the academic and editorial quality of publications. To this end, the EB meets at least once every three months. Specifically:

It coordinates the editorial workflow from manuscript receipt to final publication. This includes preliminary review, the selection and assignment of reviewers, monitoring of peer review processes, communication with authors, and verification of compliance with editorial policies.

It will conduct a preliminary evaluation of manuscripts to verify thematic relevance, initial scientific quality, originality, compliance with editorial guidelines, methodological coherence, and suitability to the journal's scope. Based on this evaluation, it may send the manuscript for peer review, request revisions, or reject the work before external review.

The Editorial Board identifies and assigns specialized reviewers, ensuring subject-matter expertise, institutional and geographic diversity, the absence of conflicts of interest, and high academic quality in the peer-review process. It also monitors the timeliness and quality of the reviews.

The EB verifies that the peer review process is confidential, impartial, and technically sound, and that it is conducted in accordance with the journal's editorial and ethical policies. It may also request additional reviews when opinions are conflicting or insufficient.

Based on peer review opinions and the editorial evaluation, the Editorial Board may recommend or issue decisions, such as acceptance, acceptance with modifications, a request for further review, or rejection of the manuscript. Decisions must be based on academic, scientific, and ethical criteria.

The EB must address cases of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, manipulation of images or data, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, misuse of artificial intelligence, redundant publication, and other scientific or editorial misconduct. In complex cases, it may request the Editorial Board's intervention or advice.

The EB can propose updates related to author guidelines, review formats, editorial policies, technological tools, editorial management, scientific integrity, and the use of artificial intelligence.

It can analyze indicators such as review time, publication time, acceptance rate, author affiliation, reviewer performance, peer review quality, and publication frequency. Based on this analysis, the EB can implement improvement measures.

The Editorial Board can collaborate on activities to strengthen academic networks, attract high-quality manuscripts, and increase the journal's scientific visibility.

Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief (EC) is responsible for directing the editorial process, making final decisions on manuscripts, overseeing the scientific and ethical quality of publications, coordinating the Editorial Board, and representing the journal to institutional bodies and to national and international indexing systems. Specifically, the Editor-in-Chief has the following responsibilities and attributions:

The coordination of the entire editorial process of the journal, from manuscript submission to final publication. The EC is responsible for ensuring compliance with the journal's editorial policies, ethical guidelines, and scientific quality standards.

The EC is responsible for making the final decision on manuscripts submitted to the journal, based on peer review reports, the Editorial Board's recommendations, scientific relevance, and the journal's editorial and ethical policies. Editorial decisions must be based on academic, scientific, and ethical criteria.

The Editor-in-Chief must ensure that published articles meet appropriate standards of originality, methodological rigor, scientific quality, academic integrity, clarity of writing, and thematic relevance. The EC must also oversee the quality of the peer review, editing, and publication processes.

The EC is responsible for addressing plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data or image manipulation, conflicts of interest, authorship issues, inappropriate use of artificial intelligence, redundant publication, and other scientific or editorial misconduct. To do so, support from the Editorial Board may be requested when the case's complexity requires it. In addition, the EC organizes and supervises the activities of the Editorial Board and the associate editors.

The Editor-in-Chief manages the interaction with the Coordinación de Revistas Institucionales (Institutional Journals Coordination; CORI), which is responsible for the processes of style review, translation, layout, and final publication of manuscripts.

The Editor-in-Chief serves as the journal's official representative to academic institutions, indexing bodies, scientific databases, publishers, academic networks, and national and international organizations related to scientific publishing.

This person promotes strategies to enhance scientific quality, strengthen international visibility, expand the geographic diversity of authors and reviewers, improve editorial indicators, boost indexing, and consolidate the journal's academic prestige.

The Editor-in-Chief ensures that the journal adheres to its publication schedule, reasonable review timelines, timely article publication, and the continuity of the editorial workflow. They also implement strategies to improve editorial efficiency.

The EC may propose implementing policies on editorial ethics, peer review, artificial intelligence, open access, digital preservation, retractions and corrections, open science, and the use of research data.

The Editor-in-Chief promotes ongoing evaluation and improvement processes related to editorial quality, peer-review performance, editorial professionalization, technological tools, training for reviewers and editors, and the updating of international standards.

Associate Editors

The Associate Editors are responsible for coordinating the academic evaluation and scientific peer review of manuscripts assigned to their areas of expertise, including selecting reviewers, monitoring the peer-review process, analyzing the reports, and issuing editorial recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief. Specifically, they have the functions and responsibilities described below.

They oversee the editorial process of manuscripts assigned to their areas of expertise. This includes preliminary manuscript review, assessment of thematic relevance, initial evaluation of scientific quality, and recommendation regarding submission for peer review.

They identify and propose expert reviewers, ensuring scientific expertise in the subject matter, institutional and geographical diversity, the absence of conflicts of interest, and the academic quality of the peer review. They may also monitor the acceptance of invitations and compliance with review deadlines.

They verify that the peer review process is technically sound, that confidentiality is maintained, that it follows the double-blind model, and that ethical and scientific standards are met. They may also request clarifications or additional reviews when the reports are insufficient, contradictory, or poorly substantiated.

They evaluate the consistency among the reports, the technical quality of the evaluations, the relevance of the observations, and the scientific feasibility of the requested modifications.

Based on this, they may issue an editorial recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief.

They may review the revised versions of the manuscripts to verify that the authors have adequately addressed the reviewers' observations. When necessary, they may resubmit the manuscript for further review.

Based on the comprehensive analysis of the manuscript and the peer reviews, the Associate Editors may recommend acceptance, acceptance with minor modifications, reconsideration after major changes, or rejection. The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

Associate Editors must inform the Editor-in-Chief of any potential cases of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data manipulation, conflicts of interest, misuse of artificial intelligence, questionable authorship, or other scientific misconduct.

They may collaborate on activities related to attracting high-quality manuscripts, promoting the journal academically, expanding scientific networks, and strengthening strategic thematic areas.

They may propose improvements to review forms, author guidelines, editorial deadlines, digital tools, and peer-review and quality-control procedures.

Associate Editors may serve as academic liaisons between the journal, authors, and reviewers during the editorial process, maintaining professional, objective, and confidential communication

Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality, authenticity, scientific integrity, and ethical validity of the manuscript submitted to the journal. They must also ensure the correct citation of sources, declare any potential conflicts of interest and the use of artificial intelligence tools, promptly address editorial comments, and comply with the journal's established ethical and editorial policies. In particular, authors have the responsibilities described below.

Authors must ensure that the submitted manuscript is an original and unpublished work, prepared in accordance with ethically acceptable scientific and academic practices. They must also guarantee that the manuscript has not been previously published, is not simultaneously submitted to another journal, and does not constitute a partial or total duplication of previously published work.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, and reliability of the data, results, analyses, figures, tables, images, and conclusions presented in the manuscript.

Authors must ensure that the research was conducted in accordance with applicable ethical principles, including, where relevant, bioethics, animal welfare, informed consent, responsible management of biological resources, environmental regulations, and relevant institutional authorizations. When necessary, they must provide documentary evidence of ethical approvals or official permits.

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, commercial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the interpretation or evaluation of the manuscript. Conflicts of interest must be declared transparently throughout the editorial process.

Authors must properly cite all sources used in the preparation of the manuscript. They must also avoid plagiarism, excessive self-plagiarism, misuse of copyrighted material, and unauthorized reproduction of content. All information taken from other works must be clearly referenced in accordance with the journal's editorial style.

If generative artificial intelligence tools were used during the preparation of the manuscript, authors must explicitly declare this, indicating the type of tool and its function. Authors are fully responsible for the content generated or assisted by artificial intelligence, including scientific accuracy, academic integrity, writing quality, references used, and the absence of false or fabricated information. Artificial intelligence may not be listed as an author of the manuscript.

Only those individuals who have made significant contributions to the research and the preparation of the manuscript should be listed as authors. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript, agree to its submission to the journal, and assume public responsibility for its content. Honorary authorship, fictitious authorship, invited authorship, and the unjustified exclusion of relevant participants are not permitted.

An author will be recognized as someone who has made substantial contributions to the work, such as the conception or design of the research, the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, the drafting of the manuscript, and critical revision with relevant intellectual contributions. Furthermore, authors must have approved the submitted version and, if accepted, the final version. They will also assume responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the content presented.

Authors must respond clearly, professionally, and with supporting evidence to the reviewers' and editors' comments. They must also submit the requested corrections within the deadlines established by the journal.

Authors must maintain respectful and transparent communication with the editorial team and provide additional information when required for the evaluation, verification, or editing of the manuscript.

If, after publication, the authors identify significant errors in the article, they must immediately notify the journal and collaborate in issuing corrections, clarifications, errata, or retractions, as appropriate.

The corresponding author will be responsible for coordinating communication with the journal, verifying that all authors approve the submission, ensuring co-authorship consent, submitting the required documentation, and promptly communicating editorial decisions to the rest of the author team.

Coordination of Institutional Journals (CORI)

The Coordinación de Revistas Institucionales (Coordination of Institutional Journals; CORI) is the unit attached to the Dirección General de Investigación, Posgrado y Servicio(DGIPS) of the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, responsible for coordinating, supporting, and supervising the editorial, technical, and scientific production processes of Current Topics in Agronomic Science, as well as other institutional journals. Its functions include the administration of editorial platforms, similarity review, copyediting, scientific translation, DOI management, galley preparation, electronic publishing, dissemination of scientific content, strengthening the visibility and indexing of journals, and monitoring compliance with the principles of scientific integrity and editorial ethics. The detailed functions and responsibilities of CORI are described below.

CORI coordinates the technical and editorial activities necessary to transform an accepted manuscript into a publishable scientific article. This function includes organizing and monitoring post-acceptance editorial processes to ensure that articles meet scientific, linguistic, editorial, and technological standards before publication.

CORI is responsible for providing and maintaining the technological infrastructure used for the editorial management of institutional journals. Its responsibilities include managing electronic manuscript submission systems; providing technical support to authors, reviewers, and editors; maintaining editorial platforms; and safeguarding the integrity of editorial information.

CORI participates in implementing mechanisms that ensure the scientific and editorial quality of publications. These include similarity checks using specialized software; verification of compliance with editorial standards; monitoring of peer review procedures; and application of international scientific publication criteria.

CORI, through specialized personnel, reviews the style of manuscripts accepted for publication. This activity aims to improve the clarity of language, correct grammatical and spelling errors, standardize scientific writing, and ensure the editorial consistency of articles.

CORI is responsible for providing the necessary translations for articles to be published in both Spanish and English. All contributions are published in both languages, and the translations are performed by specialized staff at no cost to the authors. This function includes specialized scientific translation, terminology review, standardization of bilingual versions, and linguistic quality control.

CORI participates in the assignment and management of permanent digital identifiers (DOI, Digital Object Identifiers) for published articles. This function helps ensure the permanent availability of articles, facilitates citation retrieval, improves interoperability between scientific platforms, and strengthens the international visibility of publications.

CORI, through specialized staff, handles editorial layout, galley proof generation, final proofreading, metadata integration, and file preparation for electronic publication. These activities are a natural part of the editorial production process following manuscript acceptance.

CORI is responsible for publishing and making the articles accepted by the journal available to the scientific community. This includes open access electronic publication, maintenance of the journal's website, content updates, distribution of issues and articles, and digital preservation of published materials.

CORI coordinates the journal under an open access model and a Creative Commons license. Therefore, its responsibilities include guaranteeing free access to content, monitoring compliance with publishing licenses, and promoting the open circulation of scientific knowledge.

CORI participates in activities related to editorial standardization, compliance with database criteria, metadata enhancement, digital interoperability, and improvements in editorial indicators.

CORI actively participates in addressing controversies and misconduct throughout all stages of the editorial process. This includes issues related to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, conflicts of interest, false authorship, data fabrication or manipulation, image manipulation, and other breaches of scientific integrity.

Current Topics in Agronomic Science has its own Advisory Board, Editor-in-Chief, and Editorial Board. However, CORI provides the necessary institutional support for the journal's editorial operations. Therefore, CORI serves as a cross-cutting support body for the journal's various organizational levels and for staffing at different stages of production.