Guide for authors

Presentation

The Revista Chapingo Serie Horticultura (RCHSH; Chapingo Horticulture Series Journal) is an annual scientific journal with continuous publication and bilingual (English and Spanish) edited by the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (UACh). The RCHSH is a means of disseminating and discussing unpublished research results in the horticultural and related areas. Its aim is to generate an international space for discussion and dissemination of scientific and technological knowledge in the field of horticulture, through the publication of unpublished research results.

Topics

The crops included in the topics published by the RCHSH can be grouped into the following categories:

• Vegetables: leafy, stem and root vegetables; legumes for pod consumption; edible mushrooms and algae; sprouts and shoots (alfalfa, beans and bamboo, among others).
• Fruits and nuts grown in tropical, subtropical, temperate and arid climates (vines, exotic fruits and cacti, among others).
• Ornamental cut plants (flowers and leaves), potted production, ferns, orchids, grasses, palms, succulents and aquatic plants, among others.
• Medicinal plants and spices; culinary herbaceous species and essential oil- producing plants.
• Stimulant plants for making beverages (tea, coffee and cocoa, among others).
• Small crops used as sweeteners, sugar, waxes, resins, latex, pesticides and fish poisons, rubber-producing plants (hevea and guayule), fiber-producing plants (e.g., agave and pineapple).
• Perennial oil crops (coconut, palm trees and jojoba, among others) used for biofuels, production and other compounds.
• Wild plants with horticultural, fruit, ornamental and medicinal potential, among others.
• Other crops, as long as they have a horticultural orientation.

The basic and applied research areas covered by the journal are diverse, but all related to horticulture; among them: plant nutrition, agronomic management, crop protection, protected agriculture, growth models and analysis, breeding, plant genetic resources, botany, taxonomy, physiology, biochemistry of growth, development and maturation, propagation, in vitro culture, gene expression, genetic engineering, climate change, pollution and environmental stress, organic and sustainable agriculture, harvest and post-harvest technology, food safety, nutritional value, cultivar evaluation, crop protection against pests, diseases and adverse abiotic factors, ethnobotanical uses of plants, landscape architecture, market, economics, and rural sociology, among others.

Language

The RCHSH welcomes manuscripts in Spanish or English as publication is in both languages. Translation is the responsibility of UACh's Coordinación de Revistas Institucionales (CORI; Coordination of Institutional Journals) and does not generate additional costs for the authors. In this sense, Spanish- and English-speaking authors are invited to send their manuscripts in their native language in order to reduce the editorial processing time. Likewise, the entire manuscript should be written in one language only.

Types of manuscrip

• Scientific articles: These are original, unpublished manuscripts, developed with ethical practices and derived from a rigorous experimental process or from widely-established theoretical developments, in which a manuscript is made to scientific knowledge. All necessary information must be included so that the experiment can be replicated by other researchers. It should be no more than 4 500 words, excluding references. See manuscript structure.

• Scientific or technological notes: These are short reports of original research. They have the same objective as the scientific article, and although they are presented in a brief form, this does not mean that they are of lesser importance. They should be no more than 3 500 words, excluding references. See manuscript structure.

• Review articles: These are written as a result of an exhaustive, updated and critical analysis of topics of interest in the horticultural field. They should address the state of the art, as well as discuss current and future needs for research and technology transfer in the chosen topic area. They should be no longer than 6 000 words, excluding references. Authors interested in submitting a review article should be established researchers in the area. See manuscript structure.

• Description of new cultivars: This type of manuscript describes the specific characteristics of new cultivars, their areas of adaptation, the differences and advantages that distinguish them, and the corresponding official records. They should be no more than 3 000 words, excluding references. See manuscript structure.

Before starting

Authors should consider the following points before starting the process of submitting their manuscript.

Code of ethics (COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics)

In order to avoid breaches of the code of ethics, the following points should be considered:

Originality: Authors must ensure that they have written completely original works. If they have used the work or phrases of other authors, these must be cited appropriately. Plagiarism can occur in many ways, from self-plagiarism (citing one's own work without the respective reference), presenting someone else's work as one's own, copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another work (without attribution), and even claiming as one's own the results of research conducted by others. Plagiarism (in all its forms), as well as fraudulent statements, constitutes unethical conduct and is unacceptable in the scientific community and in the editorial process.

Multiple publication: Authors must not submit manuscripts that are the same, or describe essentially the same research, to more than one journal.

Acknowledgement of sources: Appropriate acknowledgment should always be given to the work of other authors.

Authorship of the manuscript: Authorship must be limited to those who contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research conducted. In addition, all co-authors must have reviewed and approved the manuscript and accepted the submission for publication.

Self-citations and citations unrelated to the topic: Authors should avoid self-citations and citations not related to the main objective of the paper.

For more information on the RCHSH Code of Ethics, please refer to the Editorial Policy section.

Use of language

Language used should recognize diversity, be sensitive to differences and promote equality. Manuscripts should not make assumptions about any reader's beliefs, nor should they assume or suggest that one individual is superior to another on the basis of race, gender, culture or any other characteristic. Authors should ensure that the writing is free from bias.

Changes in authorship

Before submitting your manuscript, authors should review their names and order thereof according to their manuscripts to the paper. Any changes (addition, deletion or reordering) in the list of authors must be made before the manuscript has been accepted, and must be submitted to the journal's Editor-in-Chief in a special document, with the signatures of all authors involved, indicating the reasons for the changes. The e-mail address for receiving any request is chapingo.horticultura@gmail.com

Conflict of interest

Authors must declare any financial or personal relationship with other persons or organizations that may inappropriately influence or bias the outcome of the work. For this purpose, authors must indicate whether there was a conflict of interest and, if any, mention the agreements reached.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The RCHSH allows the use of AI only to improve the readability and language of the manuscript. If applicable, the manuscript must include a description of the technologies used and what was generated with them.
Authors are responsible for supervising, reviewing and editing information obtained using AI, as these technologies may generate incorrect information.
Under no circumstances may authors include AI as a co-author in the manuscript, as this implies performing activities that can only be attributed to humans.
The RCHSH does not allow the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies (such as ChatGPT) by referees and editors in the peer review process, in order to protect the rights of authors and the confidentiality of their research.

Procedure for submitting manuscripts

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should consult the letter, front page and manuscript formats, as well as the initial review criteria in the supporting material section.

Submission

Manuscripts are only received through the Editorial Manager®. All follow-up for the peer review, including the decision of the Editor-in-Chief, is conducted through this manager and communication is maintained exclusively with the corresponding author. Tutorials for the use of this system can be found on the journal's website. If you have any questions or problems with the manager, you may contact us by e-mail at chapingo.horticultura@gmail.com; the e-mail must include a telephone number where you can be reached.

Before submitting your manuscript to the Editorial Manager®, be sure to have the following documents and information ready.

1. Cover letter. It must include the title of the manuscript, as well as the full name, institutional affiliation, address, telephone number, e-mail, ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) identifier and the corresponding author's signature. This letter expressly declares that the manuscript is the product of original research, that ethical practices were followed in its execution, that the results presented are unpublished, that the manuscript is not being simultaneously submitted to another publication medium and that it has not been previously published in another medium or in another language.
   A manuscript will be considered as "previously published" when it has been widely published in conference proceedings or any other event (in any language), and has an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) or ISBN (International Standard Book Number). 
   Within this letter, the authors must indicate whether there was a conflict of interest and, if there was, mention the agreements they reached.
2. Front page. It must contain the title of the manuscript and the identification of all authors: full name with their respective ORCID, institutional affiliation and contact information.
3. Manuscript. This document must be written in Microsoft Word® format and contain all the sections identified in this guide according to the type of manuscript. To ensure that the review is double-blind, this file must not include the name or affiliation of the authors.
4. Figures. To ensure that the quality of the figures is not lost, they must be submitted, in addition to their corresponding place within the manuscript, separately in TIFF or JPG format with a minimum size of 945 x 945 pixels and a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch (300 dpi).
5. Proposed referees: Authors must provide the full name, e-mail address and place of affiliation of at least three potential referees who have extensive experience in the subject of the manuscript, with institutional affiliation different from those of the authors.

Notice of receipt of manuscript

Upon receipt of the submission, the Editorial Manager® system sends a receipt notification email; subsequently, the manuscript is reviewed in terms of the journal's subject matter, format (requirements described in this guide for authors) and possible plagiarism. The last is done through iThenticate®. If a submission complies with all requirements, a reference key is assigned and the peer review process described in the Editorial Policy is initiated. Failure to comply with the criteria described in the guide for authors leads to rejection (topic outside the scope of the journal or duplication of content) or to the return of the manuscript for correction before peer review. Observations on the manuscript are sent via e-mail.

Decision on the manuscript

Peer review processes and opinions are issued in accordance with the provisions of the Editorial Policy section.

If a manuscript is accepted for publication in the RCHSH, an e-mail is sent to the authors with the decision along with the bank account information for depositing the recovery fee for the publication process. In accordance with the open access and ethics monitoring policies, a letter of copyright transfer for the manuscript is also required, which must contain the signatures of all authors. Individual letters may be sent by each author.

Manuscript structure

It is suggested that you download the manuscript template located in the supporting material section, for its use in the writing and presentation of the manuscript.

Front page

The authors' names should be written after the title and aligned to the left, each on a different line. The name(s) should begin with the first name(s), followed by the last name(s), which if there are two should be joined by a hyphen without spaces. No mention should be made of academic degrees or titles. After each author's name, his or her  ORCID should appear in parentheses.

After the names, the affiliation and complete address should be written: institution, street (avenue, road, highway, boulevard, etc.), number, neighborhood or town, city or municipality, state, postal code and country.

In the case of authors with different affiliations, a numerical superscript at the end of each name and at the beginning of the affiliation is used to identify their data. The corresponding author must be identified with the sign * and the phrase "Corresponding author" followed by his/her e-mail address and telephone number.

Manuscript

The manuscript must include the following sections, according to the type of manuscript:

• Scientific articles and Scientific or technological notes: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusions and references.
• Review articles: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, methodology (criteria used to search for references), discussion and critical analysis of the literature, conclusions and references. The discussion should include a glimpse of the need for current and future research work and, if applicable, technology transfer.
• Description of new cultivars: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, description of the origin of the cultivar (with the corresponding official records), selection method, distinctive and comparative features with respect to other available materials and references.  

Scientific articles and Scientific or technological notes

Title

The title of the manuscript should not exceed 120 characters with spaces, with the first letter in upper case and the rest in lower case, unless the grammatical rules indicate otherwise. If biological organisms that are not common in the agricultural field are mentioned in it, they should be written according to the scientific standard that exists for such a case. If widely known species are mentioned, the scientific name should be included in the keywords and not in the title.

Abstract

This is a summary, in a single paragraph, of the most relevant aspects of the manuscript: introduction, objectives, methodology, results and conclusions. It should not include discussion, citations, and table or figure callouts. It should be no more than 250 words for scientific articles, and 150 words for scientific or technological notes and descriptions of new cultivars.  

Keywords

It is a list of three to five words, simple or compound, not included in the title, that indicate to the reader the topics addressed by the manuscript. They should be written in a separate paragraph immediately after the abstract, in lowercase, separated from each other by commas and with a period at the end of the list. If the title does not include the scientific name(s) of the species(es) under study, it(they) should be included at the beginning of this list.

Introduction

This section states the problems related to the object of study, as well as the "state of the art" of the topic in question, pertinence, originality, relevance, bibliographical background, objectives and working hypotheses; that is, the problem to be addressed must be precisely stated and justified, avoiding generalities.
The background should be based on relevant and recent scientific literature (more than 80 % of the citations must be less than 10 years old). The objectives should clearly specify and delimit the purpose and scope of the study carried out; in addition, they should be presented at the end of this section, be the same as those stated in the abstract and be consistent with the methodology and conclusions.

Materials and methods

This section describes the most relevant and exclusive aspects of the work, allowing other researchers to know how the research was conducted and, in turn, to replicate and corroborate the results. This section should include dates and locations (with geographical coordinates and elevation), factors and levels under study, treatment design, experimental unit and design, sampling schemes, variables evaluated along with their units and method of measurement, materials, equipment (brand, model, country), reagents (brand, country) and techniques used, management of the experiment, and statistical analysis procedures and techniques. If methodologies are used whose description is extensive and can be consulted in a manual or specialized publication, the corresponding citation must be referenced. In case of making modifications to generalized methods, they must be declared.

Results and discussion

This section must include the results obtained or facts observed derived from the application of the methodology in an orderly, complete and concise manner. Tables and figures (drawings, graphs, and photographs, among others) may be presented, which must be mentioned in the text and must be understood by themselves, without having to resort to the text. The information in the tables and figures should not be repeated in the text, and should be placed in the corresponding place within the text.  
It is necessary to consider the results derived from statistical analysis, for which reference should be made to the existence or not of statistical differences, as well as the measure of risk assumed by the researcher when making such statements (p value, α, or significance level). If appropriate and relevant, the interactions between factors studied should be interpreted in a coherent manner. In addition to measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, such as the coefficient of variation or standard error, should be included when relevant.
The results obtained must be explained and discussed, as well as their relationship with the hypothesis and objectives, supported by comparing them to results present in the scientific literature related to the subject. It should be considered that it is not enough to present results, but it is mandatory to interpret them and discuss their meaning. Each relevant result should be related to a discussion. Excessive citations of a single idea should be avoided and discussion of published literature unrelated to its own results should be avoided.
Information corresponding to the "Materials and methods" section should not be repeated, and literature review-type writing should not be included.

Conclusions

Concisely present the premises derived from the results and discussion; they should not exceed the scope of the results, nor be a summary of them. Conclusions should be in complete agreement with the objectives and hypotheses stated. This section should only include facts verified in the study, so it should not contain hypotheses or speculations. Recommendations should be avoided, unless the objectives have stated this purpose. Tables, figures or references should not be included. It is suggested that the maximum length be 150 words.

Acknowledgments

This section should include acknowledgements of people, institutions, funds and research grants, among others, that have supported or collaborated significantly in the development of the study.

Declaration of conflict of interest

Authors must declare any financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could influence or bias the outcome of the research. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include financial (memberships, employment, consultancies, grants or other types of funding, and patent licensing agreements, among others) and non-financial (personal or professional relationships, affiliations, and personal beliefs, among others). In this case, authors must add the following statement and the conflict of interest they wish to declare:

• The authors declare the following financial interests (or personal relationships) that may be considered as potential conflicts of interest ..., which were resolved by ...

If there are no conflicts of interest, the authors must indicate:

• The authors declare that we have no known financial conflicts of interest or personal relationships that could have influenced the research presented in this article.

Declaration of the use of AI

In accordance with the Use of AI section, if generative AI or AI-assisted technologies have been used in the scientific writing, this must be stated in this section by means of a brief description; for example:

• During the preparation of this work, [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] was used for the purpose of [REASON]. All material obtained with this technology was reviewed and edited, so the authors assume full responsibility for the content of the published article.

If generative AI or AI-assisted technologies have not been used, the authors must declare this; for example:

• The authors declare that they have not used generative AI or AI-assisted technologies for the development of this manuscript.

The declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools, such as those used for grammar and spell checking, as well as reference managers.

References

All bibliographical references cited throughout the manuscript must be presented in accordance with APA 7 standards (http://www.apastyle.org). A summary of the APA 7 reference guide can be found on the journal's website. Make sure that all references cited in the text are also present in the reference list (and vice versa). All references must include their DOI (Digital Object Identifier: www.doi.org) or, failing that, the electronic address where the original citation can be consulted.

All references must be from primary sources; references from secondary sources (i.e. cited by) are not accepted under any circumstances. References to theses, brochures, abstracts, conference proceedings, or any other publication of limited circulation are not allowed. Internet citations are also not allowed, unless they are related to statistics or yearbooks from official bodies, in which case the date of consultation (retrieval) must be recorded.

If a reference management program is used, field codes should be deleted before submitting the manuscript:

1. In your Word file press Ctrl + E to select all content.
2. Press Ctrl + 6 or Cmd + 6 to unlink all fields and remove hidden links.

Review articles

The title, abstract (250 words), keywords, introduction, acknowledgements, statements and references should follow the guidelines mentioned above. Regarding the methodology, it should indicate the criteria used in the search for references (date range, keywords, and databases, among others) and databases consulted, as well as the strategy and methods used to select and analyze the reviewed literature.

It is suggested that the discussion and critical analysis of the literature be organized into thematic sections that address the different aspects of the topic. In each of them, the reviewed studies should be compared, contrasted and critically analyzed, and strengths and weaknesses in the existing literature should be identified. The need for current and future research work and, if applicable, technology development and its possible transfer, should be outlined.

Conclusions should be drawn from the discussion of the key points addressed in the article and include recommendations for future research.

Description of new cultivars

The title, abstract (150 words), keywords, introduction, acknowledgments, statements and references should follow the guidelines mentioned above. The description of the new cultivar should detail its production process and cite all official records available, as well as the place where it was developed. Its botanical description (morphology and life cycle), agronomic characteristics (environmental growth conditions, crop management, yield, pest and disease resistance), physicochemical properties and commercial potential should be included.

Format

General information

The text must be presented in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1.5 line spacing (including tables, figures and references) and 2.5 cm margins on all four sides. Each page must be numbered consecutively in the lower right margin, and line numbering should be continuous in the left margin, except for tables and figures.

As far as possible, sentences and paragraphs should be no longer than three and ten lines, respectively; this will help in understanding ideas and translating the text.

Abbreviations

The first time an abbreviation is used in the document, the full meaning should be written first, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. On subsequent occasions, the abbreviation should be used alone without further explanation.

Nomenclature

Common names of elements, substances, plants, animals and things should be written in lowercase. Proper names should be written in lowercase, except for the initial(s). Product brand names should not be used, but rather their generic or chemical name.

Chemical names (those that establish the chemical structure of a substance) must be written according to the nomenclature of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC, http://www.iupac.org/). For example: 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. If a commercial product is used, the brand name and country of origin must also be indicated.

Scientific names must accompany, in parentheses, the common names of plants and animals the first time they are mentioned; thereafter, they may be omitted. They should be written in italics and consist of a generic epithet (genus), specific epithet (species) and surname(s) of the classifier(s). They should be written in lowercase, except for the initial letter of the genus and the surname(s) of the classifier(s); for example: Persea americana Mill.

Equations and variables

Mathematical formulas must be created using Word's equation editor (Insert —> Equation —> Insert new equation). All equations must be written aligned to the left, on a separate line and, if required, numbered sequentially in the right margin.

Variables used in the manuscript should be fully defined (name, symbols and units) and as simply as possible. To help distinguish them from units, all variables and mathematical symbols must be written in italics.

Numbers, symbols and units

Arabic numerals must always be used when indicating units and measurements, and when designating numbers from 10 upwards. When whole numbers from zero to nine are mentioned, which are not associated with units, they should be written in letters; for example: "… seven treatments were carried out …" and "…the temperature of the refrigeration chamber was 7 °C…".

The International System of Units (SI) must be used throughout the document. All units must be written in normal text and in linear form; for example: kg·ha^-1. For monetary units, pesos (MXN) or dollars (USD) must be used; for example: "…100.00 MXN…" or "…100.00 USD…".

In quantities, a period must be used to separate the integer part from the decimals and a thin space to separate the thousands. For very large or small values, prefixes or scientific notation should be used. Some examples are as follows: "....3.6 MPa was used...", "... with permeability of 1.45 x 10^-14 kg·m·s^-1·m^-2·Pa^-1 and thickness of 35 mm…".

In a series of data with the same measurement unit, the values should be listed and the unit placed at the end; for example: 7 and 10 kg; 4, 8, 11 and 13 %; 15, 18 and 22 mg·g^-1. Values and their units should always be separated by a space and should never be pluralized, i.e., do not write cms, kgs, etc.

Tables

Before presenting any table, its title should be written in a short and precise manner, starting with the word "Table," followed by the consecutive Arabic numeral that corresponds to its order of appearance in the text. All tables should be placed immediately after the paragraph where they are mentioned for the first time. The title should be presented in a paragraph of text, not as part of the table, i.e., it should not be placed in a cell.

Tables should only have three main horizontal lines: above or at the beginning of the table, below the column header and below the table. If there are hierarchical concepts in the header row, horizontal line segments may be placed. If another variable or statistic needs to be separated, such as the least significant difference or coefficient of variation, dashed lines are allowed. Vertical lines are not allowed. Tables must be constructed in Word, without using tabs or lines made with the drawing tool. Both tables and equations must be presented in editable format.

Any abbreviation used in the table should be made explicit at the bottom of the table. All tables should be self-explanatory, without the need to refer to the text.

When presenting tables with an analysis of variance, the units of the variables should not be placed. A single asterisk (*) may be used for P ≤ 0.05, a double asterisk (**) for P ≤ 0.01 or a triple asterisk (***) for P ≤ 0.001. It is also possible to use Pr ≥ T, (where T is the test statistic). It is necessary to include the coefficients of variation. If the results of the analysis of variance are not presented in a table, it is mandatory to indicate the sources of variation in which the evaluated characters were significant and the coefficients of variation obtained (these will be shown in the comparisons of means).

Indications of statistical significance in comparisons of means should be indicated with lowercase letters from the beginning of the alphabet (a, b, c, d, ...) and the least significant difference according to the test used and the coefficient of variation should always be reported (the latter in case the analysis of variance is not presented).

Some examples of these and other tables can be found in the Manuscript template.

Figures

Figures, like tables, should be placed immediately after the paragraph where they are mentioned for the first time; additionally, they should be attached separately to ensure their quality. At the bottom of each figure there should be a legend with the word "Figure," followed by the Arabic numeral corresponding to its order of appearance in the text, and a text containing the title and the information necessary to understand it. As with tables, they should be self-explanatory, without the need to refer to the text. Figure titles should be included as text, and not be part of the figure. Points, lines or bars representing means in graphs should be accompanied by their standard errors.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all images included in their manuscript are their own work or that they have the appropriate written permission for reuse. The use of AI for their construction is not permitted.

Figures must be attached in PNG, TIFF or JPG format, with a minimum size of 945 x 945 pixels and a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch (300 dpi). All figures must be grouped, without letters, symbols or lines placed with the drawing tool. If there is a need to do this, the image must be grouped as a single image or saved as an image with the aforementioned characteristics. If the figures contain text, it must be ensured that the text is complete and error-free.

If figures include statistical tests, especially comparisons of means, they must contain the necessary elements for their full understanding.

Publication cost (Article Processing Charges)

Contributions accepted for publication will be subject to a 300.00 USD recovery fee, which will cover part of the costs of the publication process. The account information for depositing the fee from anywhere in Mexico is as follows:
Bank: Santander S. A.
Account number: 65501084813
Interbank CLABE: 014180655010848131
In the name of the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

For international deposits, the account information is:
Bank: Santander S.A.
Account number: 82-50020139-5
Interbank CLABE: 014180825002013953
SWIFT code: BMSXMXMMXXX
In the name of the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

Once your deposit has been made, you must send the corresponding receipt to the e-mail account facturascori@chapingo.mx. If you require an invoice, you must attach the updated tax status certificate and indicate the use of the CFDI.

Author queries

It is recommended to consult the Frequently asked questions section. Questions and requested clarifications will be addressed by e-mail: chapingo.horticultura@gmail.com