Instructions for authors

The instructions for authors include information about preparing a manuscript for submission to Net Journal of Agriculture Science, criteria for publication and the online submission process.

Online submission of manuscript

Microsoft Word formats may be submitted online as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial office at: njas@netjournals.org .

Cover letter

During submission you will be asked to provide a cover letter. The cover letter should include the corresponding author's full address and telephone/fax numbers and should be in an e-mail message sent to the Editor, with the file, whose name should begin with the first author's surname, as an attachment.

Ethics

Authors must give assurance that no part of manuscript reporting original work is being considered for publication in whole or in part elsewhere. The corresponding author must affirm that all of the other authors have read and approved of the manuscript.

Style of manuscript

The manuscript should be written in clear, concise and grammatically correct English. It is recommended that you ask colleagues to read over your paper prior to submission to ensure it is of a high standard and conforms to a high level of scientific writing. Arial font style with 12 font size should be used. Manuscripts that do not conform to these requirements and the following manuscript format may be returned to the author for correction. The entire manuscript should be typed single spaced, with margins of 1 inch each side. All pages should be numbered consecutively in the bottom centre. Indent new paragraphs. The style of heading and subheading should be as follows:

1. The first heading should be left, justified bold and in uppercase letters.

2. The first sub-heading should be left justified, bold and title case.

3. Sub-sub-headings should be left justified, bold, italics and title case.

4. Sub-sub-sub-headings should be left justified, bold, italics and title case.

Order of Manuscript

The manuscript should be presented in the following order.

Title Page

This should contain the title of the contribution (capitalize first letter of each word in the title) and the name(s) and address(es) of the author(s). The full postal address, e-mail address, telephone and fax number(s) of the author who will receive correspondence and check the proofs should be included.

Abstract

All manuscripts must include a brief but informative Abstract. It should not exceed 300 words and should describe the scope, hypothesis or rationale for the work and the main findings. The abstract should allow the reader to quickly have a clear idea about the rational for the work, the experiments conducted and the results of those experiments before reading the rest of the manuscript. Both common and scientific names should be included; the authorities are not given if they appear in the title. References to the literature and mathematical symbols/equations should not be included.

Keywords

Key words (3-7) should be provided below the Abstract to assist with indexing of the article.

Introduction

The introduction should articulate the problem being addressed. It should provide sufficient background information on the subject allowing the reader to have more insight into what will be presented in the rest of the paper. The aims of the manuscript should be clearly stated.

Materials and Methods

This section should be concise but provide sufficient detail of the material used and equipment and the procedure followed to allow the work to be repeated by others.
The sources of the laboratory procedures should be cited and any changes that were made must be noted. Information on the equipment model, manufacturer’s name and address including the city, province/state and country should be provided. The procedures should be written in the past tense.

Results

Results should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and figures. Repetitive presentation of the same data in tables and figures should be avoided. The results should not contain material appropriate to the Discussion. All tables, graphs, statistical analyses and sample calculations should be presented in this section.

Discussion

The results should be discussed in relation to any hypotheses advanced in the Introduction. Comment on results and indicate possible sources of error. Place the study in the context of other work reported in the literature. Only in exceptional cases should the "Results and Discussion" sections be combined. Refer to graphs, tables and figures by number (for example Figure 5 or Table 5). This helps tie the data into the text in a very effective manner.

Conclusion

The main conclusions of the experimental work should be presented. The contribution of the work to the scientific community and its economic implications should be emphasized.

Acknowledgement

The source of financial support must be acknowledged. Authors must declare any financial support or relationships that may pose conflict of interest in the covering letter submitted with the manuscript. Technical assistance may also be acknowledged.

References

All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript.

A. Citation in Text

Use the author/date system of references. In the text, refer to the author(s) name (without initials) and year of publication.

1. Examples for a single author

Jameson (2003) has shown that ... This is in agreement with the results obtained by several authors (Kramer, 1994; Smith, 1995; Brown, 1999).

2. Examples for two authors

Smith and White (1999) reported that... This was later found to be incorrect (Amir and Ahmed, 2000).

3. Examples for three or more authors (use the first author’s name and then et al.)

Moore et al. (1990) stated that... Similar results were reported recently (Smith et al., 2003).

B. List of References

The list of references should include only those cited in the manuscript and arranged alphabetically by authors’ names. Titles of journals should be abbreviated. 'In press' can only be used to cite manuscripts actually accepted for publication in a journal. Citations such as manuscript in preparation' or manuscript submitted' are not permitted. The following format should be adhered to:

Journal Papers

James LS, Habib AG, Akintola DT, Chatterbee DN, Ambrose KW, Kareen TL, 2009. Oxygen transfer effects on recombinant benzaldehyde lyase production. Biochem Biotechnol Res, 1:115.
Hernández-Herrero MM, Duflos G, Malle P, Bouquelet S, 2003. Collagenase activity and protein hydrolysis as related to spoilage of iced cod (Gadus morhua). Food Res Inter, 36(2):141-147.

Text Book

Navabi Z, 1998. Analysis and Modeling of Digital Systems. 2nd Ed. McGraw Hill, New York. pp: 632.
Berg JM, John LT and Stryer L, 2007. Biochemistry. 5th Ed. W.H. Freeman, New York. pp.580.

Book Chapter

Katz RH, 1986. Computer-Aided Design Databases. In: New Directions for Database Systems, Ariav G and Clifford J, (Eds.), Intellect Books, Norwood, NJ, pp: 110-123.
Ashie INA and Lanier TC, 2000. Transglutaminases in Seafood Processing. In: Seafood Enzymes Utilization and Influence on Postharvest Seafood Quality, Haard NF and Simpson BK (Eds.), Marcel Dekker Inc, New York, NY, pp: 271-275.

Conference Proceedings

Magott J, Skudlarski K, 1989. Combining Generalized Stochastic Petri Nets and PERT Networks For The Performance Evaluation Of Concurrent Processes. Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Petri Nets and Performance Models, Dec. 11-13, IEEE Xplore Press, Japan, pp: 249-256.
Baird-Parker AC, Baillie MAH, 1974. The Inhibition of Clostridium botulinum by Nitrite and Sodium Chloride. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Nitrite in Meat Products, Sep.10-14, Zeist, the Netherlands, pp: 268.

Government Publications (Some will still have specific authors – find them if you can)

Forastieri V, 1999. The ILO Programme for Occupational Safety and Health in Agriculture. International Labour Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sheng TC, 1989. Soil Conservation for Small Farmers in the Humid Tropics. FAO Soils Bulletin No. 60. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy.
United Nations, 2001. Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies. United Nations Press, New York, USA.

Online Publications

Lal R, 1995. Sustainable Management of Soil Resources in the Humid Tropics. United Nations University Press, Tokyo, Japan. http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu27se/uu27se00.htm (Accessed on March 17, 2011)

Mörner J, Bos R, Fredrix M, 2002. Guidance on Alternative Strategies for Sustainable Pest and Vector Management. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/resources/en/Organicpescont.pdf (Accessed on February 13, 2011)

Rice RA, Ward JR, 1996. Coffee, Conservation and Commerce in the Western Hemisphere. Natural Resources Defence Council, Weadon Progressive and The Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. http://www.nrdc.org/health/farming/ccc/cptinx.asp (Accessed on January 3, 2012)

Generic Website UNEP, 2002. Cleaner Production Assessment in Industries. Production and Consumption Branch. United Nations Environment Program. http://www.unepie.org/pc/cp/understanding_cp/cp_industries.htm (Accessed on February 13, 2011)

FLO, 2002. The World Coffee Crisis. Fair Trade Labeling Organization.http://www.fairtrade.net/pdf/english/Coffee.pdf (Accessed on May 6, 2011)
FAO, 2002. Statistical Database, Food and Agriculture Organization. http://apps.fao.org/default.htm (Accessed on March 27, 2012)

Thesis

Alkoaik F, 2005. Fate of plant pathogens and pesticides during composting of greenhouse tomato plant residues. Unpublished dissertation in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Tables

Tables should be self-contained and the data should not be duplicated in figures. Tables should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals. Each table should be presented on a separate page with a comprehensive but concise legend above the table. Tables should be double-spaced and vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Column headings should be brief, with units of measurement in parentheses. All abbreviations should be defined in footnotes. Use superscript letters (not numbers) for footnotes and keep footnotes to a minimum. *, **, *** should be reserved for P values.

Figures

Only necessary illustrations should be included. All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. Figures should be cited in consecutive order in the text. Figures should be sized to fit within the column (82 mm) or the full text width (171 mm). Line figures should be supplied as sharp, black and white or color diagrams, drawn with a computer graphics package. Photographs should be sharp and magnifications should be indicated on photographs using a scale bar. Graphics should be supplied as high resolution (at least 300 d.p.i.) electronic files. Digital images supplied as low-resolution cannot be used. The legend should incorporate definitions of any symbols used and all abbreviations and units of measurement should be explained so that the figure can be understood without reference to the text.

Abbreviation and Units

SI units (metre, kilogram, etc.), as outlined in the latest edition of Units, symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Medical and Scientific Editors and Authors (Royal Society of Medicine Press, London), should be used wherever possible. Statistics and measurements should always be given in figures; that is, 10 mm, except where the number begins the sentence. When the number does not refer to a unit measurement, it is spelt out, except where the number is greater than nine. Use only standard abbreviations. The word 'Figure' should be used in full.

Galley Proofs

Once the final review is completed, the author will be required to resubmit the revised manuscript using a journal template. The final Galley Proof will be sent via e-mail as an Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) file and should be returned within 3 days of receipt with the signed copyright form and payment of publication fees. Alterations to the text and figures (other than the essential correction of errors) are unacceptable at proof stage and authors may be charged for excessive alterations. Acrobat Reader will be required in order to read the PDF. This software can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Page Charges

Net Journal of Agricultural Science does not receive direct funding from any external agency, therefore, authors are required to pay page / processing cost. Net Journal of Agricultural Science therefore levies an article-processing charge of $400 for each article accepted for publication. These charges cover some of the costs for the journal's production, online availability, hosting and archiving and allows a greater circulation for the journal as well as immediate online availability for unlimited data download worldwide.

Check List

We recommend that you ask a colleague to read over your paper prior to submission to ensure it is of a high standard and conforms to a high level of scientific writing. Before submission of your manuscript, please check that:

• All references cited in the text are included in the reference section.

• All figures and tables are cited in the text.

• Figures are at least 300 d.p.i. The pages are numbered