Manuscript preparation manual
Instructions for Authors
Prepare a complete, reproducible agronomy manuscript for the Journal of Agronomy Research with enough crop, soil, site and design context for expert assessment.
Requirements are applied according to the study design. Authors should not force an irrelevant reporting framework onto their work.
Field notebook structure
Site and material → experimental design → measurements, analysis and bounded interpretation.
Article-type release gate
The final author-submittable list is being reconciled with the JAR-specific submission workflow. Research Articles, Review Articles and Short Communications are the conservative candidates supported by the record; this list requires editorial approval before canonical release.
Prepare the manuscript file
Use clear scientific English and a structure appropriate to the study. Arbitrary word, table or reference limits are not introduced without editorial approval.
Title page
Concise title; authors and affiliations; corresponding-author contact; ORCID identifiers where available; running title if requested.
Abstract and keywords
State the question, design or evidence source, principal results and bounded conclusion. Select terms that identify the crop, system and method without keyword stuffing.
Main text
Organise the rationale, methods, results and interpretation so the experimental unit, treatments and evidence chain are clear.
End matter
Acknowledgements, author contributions, funding, conflicts, data availability, ethics and permissions, AI-use disclosure, preprint or related-manuscript information.
Supporting files
Figures, tables, legends, supplementary methods or data, reporting checklists, permits and response documents where applicable.
Agronomy reporting register
Report each item that materially affects interpretation or replication. Explain why an item is not applicable rather than silently omitting essential context.
Biological material
IdentifySpecies and scientific name; cultivar, variety, hybrid or accession; seed, germplasm, microbial or biological-input source.
Why it mattersIdentity and provenance determine reproducibility and interpretation.
Site and season
IdentifyLocation, study period, season, soil classification and baseline properties, weather, prior land use and relevant management history.
Why it mattersAgronomic outcomes depend on the production environment.
Experimental design
IdentifyExperimental unit, plot or container size, treatments, controls, replication, randomisation, blocking and sample-size rationale where relevant.
Why it mattersThe design determines valid inference and avoids pseudoreplication.
Management and inputs
IdentifyFertiliser, irrigation, pesticide, biological control and other practices, including composition, rate, timing and application method.
Why it mattersIncomplete treatment detail prevents comparison and replication.
Measurements
IdentifySampling frame, timing, instruments, laboratory methods, calibration, quality controls, units and handling of missing observations.
Why it mattersMeasurement provenance supports reliability.
Analysis
IdentifyStatistical model, fixed and random effects, repeated measures, multiple comparisons, assumptions, effect estimates, uncertainty, software and version.
Why it mattersStatistical significance does not replace agronomic relevance.
Guidance by study type
Use the row that matches the work and combine it with the reporting register above.
Field, multi-site and multi-season trials
Define sites, seasons, experimental units, treatment allocation, blocking, spatial or temporal dependence, genotype-by-environment context and limits on generalisation.
Greenhouse and controlled environments
Report growth conditions, containers or units, substrate, lighting, temperature, humidity, water and nutrient regimes, allocation and the intended link to an agronomic outcome.
Soil and microbial research
Describe sampling depth and strategy, storage, extraction, controls, method validation, taxonomic or functional inference and how laboratory findings connect to a crop or production system.
Breeding and genetics
Identify germplasm, population, environment, trait measurement, selection or association method, multiplicity control and the field relevance of reported effects.
Crop protection
Identify organism and diagnostic method, treatment formulation and rate, controls, resistance or non-target considerations, regulated-material permissions and field relevance.
Remote sensing and precision agriculture
Report sensor/platform, calibration, ground truth, spatial and temporal resolution, preprocessing, validation split, uncertainty and the management decision the model supports.
Modelling and simulation
State assumptions, equations or algorithms, inputs, parameterisation, calibration, independent validation, sensitivity or uncertainty analysis, code availability and domain of applicability.
Evidence syntheses and surveys
For reviews, report the protocol, search, eligibility, screening, extraction and synthesis. For farmer or professional surveys, report sampling, consent, instrument, non-response and privacy protections.
Data, code and materials
- Include a data-availability statement in every manuscript.
- Use an appropriate repository and persistent identifier when sharing data or code.
- State software, version, packages and material identifiers.
- Explain legal, ethical, privacy, cultural, commercial or sensitive-location restrictions.
- Describe how qualified researchers can request restricted material where possible.
Ethics, permissions and regulation
- Field-site and landowner or farm permission
- Human-participant review and consent for interviews or surveys
- Animal ethics and welfare where applicable
- Protected-site, wildlife and biological-resource permits
- GM or gene-edited material and biosafety requirements
- Regulated pesticides, chemicals and biological agents
- Indigenous or traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing
- Privacy and sensitive geolocation
Figures and tables
Supply editable tables and legible figures with units, scale bars and complete captions. Preserve raw data and original images.
Image adjustment must be applied consistently and must not create, remove, move or obscure features. Maps and remote-sensing figures should identify scale, coordinate reference or spatial basis, resolution and data source where relevant. Obtain permission for third-party material.
AI-assisted preparation
An AI system cannot be named as an author. Authors remain accountable for the accuracy, originality and integrity of the submitted work.
Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or automated tools in a dedicated statement and describe the purpose of that use.
Authors must check factual claims, code, citations, images and translations. Do not upload confidential third-party data or identifiable participant information to a tool without authority.
Revision, proofs and record changes
A revision should make the evidence trail easier to evaluate, not merely state that comments were accepted.
Respond point by point
Quote or identify each comment, describe the change and give its location. Explain respectfully when a requested change is not adopted.
Supply clean files
Provide the revised manuscript and any marked version or replacement files requested by the editorial office.
Review proofs
Correct production errors and verify names, affiliations, figures, tables, data links, licence and DOI information; do not introduce unreviewed findings.
Request post-publication correction
Report an error promptly with the article DOI, affected text or data and proposed correction. The journal determines the appropriate record action.
Final submission checklist
- The manuscript fits JAR and its article type is available in the submission system.
- Authors, affiliations, contributions, funding and conflicts are complete.
- Agronomic context, experimental unit, methods and analysis are reproducible.
- Data, code, material, ethics, permit and permission statements are included where relevant.
- Figures, tables, references and supplementary files are cited and supplied.
- AI use, preprints and related manuscripts are disclosed.
- All authors approve the submitted version.