Manuscript preparation guidelines

Guidelines for Manuscript preparation

Please consult the Guidelines before submitting the article to the Current Horticulture.. The guidelines are of very practical approach and utility. These have been finalized by consulting the authors and Editors of research journals of the international repute.

All manuscripts submitted to Current Horticulture must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines outlined below to ensure efficient peer review and publication. Submissions not adhering to these standards may be returned for revision prior to review.

Types of Articles

Current Horticulture publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed research and review articles covering a wide range of topics in horticultural science. We welcome the following types of submissions:

  1. Research Articles (Full-length Articles): These articles report novel and significant findings in horticultural science, including basic, applied, and interdisciplinary studies. Submissions should include a clear hypothesis, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. (Word limit: Up to 3500 words including abstract and references)
  2. Short Notes (Short Communications): Concise reports on preliminary or novel findings or newly developed methodology or modification of existing methodology (pilot investigation). These are ideal for rapid dissemination of important results. (Word limit: Up to 2,500 words)
  3. Research Review Articles: Comprehensive, up-to-date reviews that summarize and synthesize recent research developments in specific areas of horticulture may be submitted or invited. Authors are encouraged to provide critical analysis and future perspectives. Word limit: Up to 6,000 words
  4. Book Reviews: Critical evaluations of recent books relevant to horticulture and allied sciences. Should highlight the book's content, relevance, and contribution to the field. Book Reviews will be included in the journal on a range of relevant books which are not more than 2 years old. (Word limit: Up to 1,000 words)
  5. Editorials (by invitation only): Opinion pieces or perspectives on current trends, issues, or policies in horticulture, written by recognized experts or members of the editorial board.
  6. New Hybrids/Varieties
  7. Novel Technologies
  8. Success Stories or Case Studies
  9. Research News

General Formatting

  • File Format: Submit manuscripts in MS Word (.doc or .docx) format. A PDF or any other format is not an acceptable source file.
  • Language: English (Hindi)
  • Layout text in a single-column format.
  • The manuscript should be typed in double space.
  • Font: Use a clear, readable font (e.g., Times New Roman/Tahoma, 12 pt).
  • Page Numbers: The pages should be numbered consequently, starting with the title page and through the text, reference list, tables and figures/legends.
  • Line number: Include consecutively line and page numbering, starting from the title page.
  • Article sections: Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections and subsections starting from Introduction. Number subsections 1, 2 (then 2.1,2.2, 2.3, ...), then 3, etc. 
  • Do not include the article abstract in section numbering
  • Subsections headings should appear on a separate line.
  • All technical terms, symbols and abbreviations should be defined.
  • All the units used in the article should be in the SI system/Metric and uniform
  • Superscripts and subscripts should be clearly indicated. 
  • Use spell-check and grammar-check functions to avoid errors. Resources for improvement of language and grammar may be used.

Manuscript Preparation

Title:

  • Should be concise, specific, and informative. Please avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible, unless they are established and widely understood, e.g., DNA, RNA, CRISPR etc).

Author detail

  • Author names: provide full names of each author. The order of authors should match the order in the submission system.
  • Affiliations: provide institutional affiliations for all the authors the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and corresponding author email address. Indicate affiliations using a lower-case superscript letter (a, b, c) immediately after the author's name. If an author has moved since the work described in your article was carried out, or the author was visiting during that time, a present affiliation should be provided.
  • Corresponding author: Clearly indicate (by * asterisk symbol with authors name) the name and email of corresponding author(s) who will handle correspondence for your article at all stages of the refereeing and publication process and also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about your results, data, methodology and materials. It is important that the email address and contact details of corresponding author are kept up to date during the submission and publication process.

Abstract

  • Limit to 300 words.
  • It should be concise and to the point briefly include Background, Methods, Key Results, Conclusion.
  • Avoid citations and undefined abbreviations.

Key words

  • Provide 5-7 key words, arranged alphabetically.
  • They should be chosen carefully and must not be phrases of words. 
  • Choose terms that are searchable and relevant for indexing.
  • Avoid key words consisting of multiple words i.e., using "and" or "of"

Introduction

  • Briefly outline the background, rationale, and objectives of the study.
  • Include references to the most recent and relevant literature.
  • Clearly state the research hypothesis or question, objective of study

Materials and Methods

  • Describe the experimental design, plant materials, study location, data collection procedures, analytical procedure
  • Statistical methods/procedure must be dealt in detail including software and models, if any.
  • Ensure citing standard protocols/research studied for reliable methodology and provide sufficient details.
  • Submit math equations as editable text, not as images and place next to the relevant text. Use formula function of MS word.

Results and Discussion

  • Present significant findings using tables, figures, or graphs where necessary. However, care should be taken that tables and illustrations should be up to 20% of the text only.
  • Both tables and illustrations should not repeat the same data.
  • The Results and Discussion should be combined to a single section to ensure clarity and avoid repetition.
  • Highlight patterns, trends, and interpretation of data in context with previous research.
  • Use uniform metric unit system throughout the manuscript e.g. km, m, cm etc.
  • Cite the adequate number of the latest references. Old references should be avoided except standard ones and inevitable.

Tables

  • Tables must be submitted as editable text, not as images.
  • Place tables next to the relevant text within the manuscript or on a separate page(s) at the end of your article.
  • Cite all tables in the manuscript text.
  • Number tables consecutively according to their appearance in the text and provide captions along with the tables.
  • Place any table notes below the table body.
  • Avoid vertical rules and shading within table cells.

Figures, image or diagram

  • Place Figures/Images (JPG, JPEG or PNG) next to the relevant text within the manuscript or on a separate page(s) at the end of your article.
  • It should be clear (colour or black & white) and should have sufficient resolution (300 dpi or more). Please do not submit: files that are too low in resolution
  • Number figures consecutively according to their appearance in the text.
  • All images must have a full caption. A caption should consist of a brief title (not displayed on the figure itself) and a description of the image. We advise you to keep the amount of text in any image to a minimum, though any symbols and abbreviations used should be explained.
  • Cite all figures in the manuscript text.
  • Multi-panel figures (those with parts a, b, c, d etc.) should be submitted as a single composite figure that contains all parts of the figure.
  • Please note that it is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures (or tables) that have previously been published elsewhere. In order for all figures to be open access, authors must have permission from the rights holder if they wish to include images that have been published elsewhere in non-open access journals. Permission should be indicated in the figure legend, and the original source included in the reference list.

Conclusions

  • Provide a concise summary of the findings, their implications and brief future thrust.
  • Avoid repeating detailed results; instead, focus on the broader impact or application.

Acknowledgements

  • Recognize funding sources, institutional support, or individuals who contributed but do not qualify as authors.
  • Acknowledgements should be placed in a separate section which appears directly before the reference list. Do not include acknowledgements on your title page, as a footnote to your title, or anywhere else in your article other than in the separate acknowledgements section.

Conflict of Interest

  • A statement must be included, even if declaring “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Ethical Considerations

  • Research involving plants or field trials must comply with institutional and national guidelines.
  • If applicable, state that permission was obtained for field trials or germplasm use.

Funding sources

  • Authors must disclose any funding sources who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article. The role of sponsors, if any, should be declared in relation to the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the report and decision to submit the article for publication. If funding sources had no such involvement this should be stated in your submission.
  • Funding: This work was supported by the AAAAA [grant numbers yyyy]; BBB [grant number zzzz]; and the FAO [grant number yyzz].
  • If no funding has been provided for the research, it is recommended to include the following sentence: This research study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author Contributions

  • Each author must have contributed significantly to qualify for authorship. Contributions should be agreed upon by all authors prior to submission.
  • Authors are required to briefly specify their individual contributions following Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) for the research work. This promotes transparency and ensures proper credit is given.
  • Please include this section at the end of the manuscript, before the reference section.
  • Authors may choose from the following roles: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing.
  • Not all CRediT roles will apply to every manuscript and some authors may contribute through multiple roles.
  • Also include the statement: “All authors have read the manuscript and agreed to its content. They have also approved the final version of manuscript and consent to its submission”

References

Any references cited within your article should also be present in your reference list and vice-versa.

Follow the Author–Year citation style.

In-text citations may be parenthetical or narrative.

Author type

Parenthetical citation

Narrative citation

One author

 (Singh, 2021)

Singh (2021)

Two authors

(Kumar and Singh, 2019)

Kumar and Singh (2019)

Three or more authors

 (Kumar et al., 2018)

Kumar et al. (2018)

If more than one reference needs to be cited: arrange them in chronological order (old to new): eg. The similar findings were previous reported in cucurbits (Kumar et al., 2018; Kumar and Singh, 2019; Singh, 2021)

The list of references should be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication. (Kumar et al., 2019a; Kumar et al., 2019b).

We encourage the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) as reference links as they provide a permanent link to the electronic article referenced.

Journal article:

Singh, N., Sharma, R.M., Dubey, A.K., Awasthi, O.P., Saha, S., Bharadwaj, C and Kumar, A. (2023). Citrus improvement for enhanced mineral nutrients in fruit juice through interspecific hybridization. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 119(2): 105259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2023.105259

Book

Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V. (1985). Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. ICAR Publications, New Delhi.

Conference proceedings

Rao, N.K. and Kumar S (2019). Advances in mango propagation. In: Proceedings of the National Conference on Tropical Fruits, Bengaluru, India, pp. 120-125.

Book Chapter:

Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 2023. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, In: Introduction to the Electronic Age, Jones, B.S. and Smith, R.Z. (Eds.). E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281-304.

Reference to a website:

FAOSTAT (2020). Food Agriculture and Organization (FAOSTAT). http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC (accessed 13 March 2023).

Supplementary Material (if any)

  • Supplementary materials such as extended datasets, figures, or videos can be submitted and published online only.
  • Supplementary material should be accurate and relevant to the research.
  • Cite all supplementary files in the manuscript text. (Supplementary Table 1 or Supplementary Figure 1)

 Submit online

Our online submission system (Make a New Submission) guides you through the process steps of entering your manuscript details and uploading your files.

Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by email.

Please follow this link to submit your paper: Make a New Submission

Guidelines for Revision of Manuscript

  • After peer review process manuscript may be sent back for revision (minor or major revision) based on reviewer’s comments and editors’ assessment. At this stage authors are invited to revise their manuscript to carefully address the reviewers’ and editor’s comments. The revised submission must clearly show how each comment has been considered. Please follow the instructions below to ensure a smooth revision process.
  • Revision Timeline: Submit within 30 Days. If additional time is required, please contact the editorial office before the deadline.
  • Preparing the Revised Manuscript: Use track changes to indicate all modifications in the revised manuscript.
  • Ensure the manuscript adheres to all formatting and referencing requirements stated in the journal's author guidelines.
  • Response to Reviewers: Submit a point-by-point response letter, clearly indicate each change has been made in the revised manuscript or If a suggestion was not followed, provide a clear and concise rationale.
  • Carefully check for language, grammar, and consistency throughout the revised version.
  • If figures or tables are updated, ensure all are of publishable quality and correctly numbered.
  • Upload the following documents during resubmission:
  • Revised manuscript (with changes in track change mode)
  • Response to reviewer’s document
  • Failure to adequately respond to reviewer comments or to revise the manuscript as per instructions may result in rejection of the submission. Authors are advised to be respectful and professional in their responses.

 After receiving a final decision

  •  Proof correction: To ensure a fast publication process we will ask you to provide proof corrections within 5-7 days.
  • Corresponding authors will be sent an email which includes a link for proof reading of article before publication. You can edit text, comment on figures and tables and answer questions raised by our copy editor.
  • The purpose of the proof is to check the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of your article text, tables and figures. Significant changes to your article at the proofing stage will only be considered with approval of the journal editor.

Author Charges

Current Horticulture is an open access journal committed to the free and global dissemination of scientific knowledge in horticultural science. The journal is official publication of Society for Horticultural Research and Development (SHRD) and operates under the principle that publicly funded research should be freely accessible to all.

Current Horticulture does not charge any article processing or publication fees (APCs). However, to support the journal’s sustainability and activities, at least the corresponding author must be a member of the Society for Horticultural Research and Development (SHRD) at the time of article acceptance. Details on SHRD membership fees and how to join are available at: [SHRD membership]. There are no submission fees, and membership does not affect editorial decisions, which are based solely on scientific merit.