Submission Guidelines

The Nigeria Journal of Plant Breeding (NJPB) is a peer-reviewed Journal, which sets out to publish full-length original articles describing significant and high-quality research reports in the field of Plant Breeding. The scope of the Journal covers the following areas:

• Plant Genetics and Genomics
• Plant Breeding conventional and molecular
• Seed Production and Technology
• Tissue Culture
• Plant Biotechnology, Bioengineering
• Crop improvement
• Crop Variety Registration
• Plant Genetic Resources and Conservation
• Crop Agronomic Improvement

The opinions and statements published are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent policies of the Plant Breeders Association of Nigeria, or the views of the Journal Editorial Board or that of the host institution – Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi – Benue State.

Manuscripts are submitted by e-mail to the editor-in-chief: editor@pban.org.ng. On successful submission, the manuscript will be assigned a unique registration number for easy identification. Authors are required to quote the number in all further communications with the editors regarding the same manuscript.

• Manuscripts should be written in clear and concise English language.
• The manuscript should be in Microsoft Word, typeset in double space using Times New Roman. The margins should be 2.5cm in an A4 format.
• Full research papers should not exceed 18 pages including tables, figures, plates, and diagrams.
• Short notes should not exceed six (6) pages.
• The content of full research papers and short notes should contain the following sections:

1. Title: The title should be clear, not exceeding 20 words in sentence case. This should be followed by name(s) of the author(s) (surname followed by initials), affiliation(s), and mailing address including e-mail and phone number of the corresponding author.
2. Abstract: Abstract should be a single paragraph of not more than 350 words. Clearly, it should introduce the work; highlight the aim, methodology, and major findings. No citation is required.
3. Keywords: The author should provide five keywords from the manuscript, arranged in alphabetical order and separated using commas.
4. Introduction: Should be brief, introduce the work clearly, including literature review, justification, and the aim of the research.
5. Materials and Methods: The procedure(s) must be clearly stated. Standard and already reported methods should be cited. Any modification of the original method must be highlighted. Use standard abbreviations. International Standard (IS) units should be used and be consistent.
6. Results and Discussion: Should be combined. Salient findings must be highlighted and discussed with related works.
7. Conclusion: A brief conclusion of the research findings and future outlooks.
8. Figures and Plates: Should be in JPEG format, numbered (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, Plate 1, Plate 2). Referred to in the text but placed after the references.
9. Diagrams: Should be clear enough to be visible when reduced in scale. Numbered and captioned. Dimensions should correspond to 2:3 of a page.
10. Tables: Prepared in MS Word, numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, each bearing a descriptive short heading, and placed after the references.
11. Acknowledgement: Sponsors and contributors to the work other than co-authors may be listed and acknowledged.
12. Citations: Citation of recent and related works is encouraged; use author-year format.
13. Reference: Relevant references cited in the text should be listed in the reference section. Reference to unpublished work is not advisable. The following referencing styles should be adopted:
    • Book: Surname, B. Y. (Date Published). Book title. City, State: Publisher, Page(s)
    • Proceedings: Goli, A.E. (2020). Bibliographical review of Bambara groundnut, p. 4-10. In: J. Heller, et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Workshop on Conservation and Improvement of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea [L.] Verdc.) 14-16 November, 1995, Harare, Zimbabwe, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
    • Journal: Surname, Z. Y. (Date Published). Article title. Journal Title, Volume (Issue): Page(s).
    • Magazine: Surname, B. H. (Date Published). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume (Issue): Page(s).
    • Newsletters: Mohammed M.S. (2021). Bambara groundnuts: The next golden legume? “Digging up African Treasure”. Farmers’ Weekly Magazine, Published in the Republic of South Africa, 13 November 2013. P. 24-25.
    • Website: Surname, R. V. (Date Published). Web page title. Retrieved from Homepage URL
    • Newspaper: Surname, A. Y. (Year, Month Day published). Article title. Newspaper Title, Page(s).
    • Dissertation/Thesis: Barde, M. A. (2019). Genetic Analysis of Tolerance to Iron Toxicity in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Unpublished M.Sc. Dissertation (or Thesis for PhD), Department of Plant Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria. 125Ppp.

    
    Note:
    1. If there is no date, use “n.d” in parentheses, which means “no date”.
    2. Page numbers for chapters of books and newspapers are preceded by “p.” or “pp.” [plural], while those of magazines and journals are only written with numbers.
    

• Handling charge: Authors are to pay a non-refundable handling charge of N 10,000 or 1 USD during manuscript submission. Evidence of payment should be placed at the last page of the manuscript. Article without evidence of payment will not be processed.
• Publication fee: Authors shall pay a publication fee of N40,000 or 25 USD only after acceptance for publication. Payments are to be made into the account below:

Account Name: Plant Breeders Association of Nigeria.
Account Number: 2035852546
Name of Bank: First Bank of Nigeria plc
Bank Branch: Markudi

Note: Waivers may be given to Registered Members of PBAN.

1. Manuscript submitted by the author will be checked by Technical Editors for scope, author guide adherence, and English style (may be rejected if standard criteria are compromised).
2. Submitted manuscript is assigned a manuscript number (e.g., NJPB-000-000-000).
3. Peer review commences; manuscript is sent to at least three reviewers (may be rejected for poor research quality).
4. Authors submit revised manuscript; checked by technical editors and reviewers (may be rejected if issues remain).
5. Revised manuscript accepted for publication; author(s) receive acceptance letter and copyright form.
6. Authors submit payment evidence and signed copyright form.
7. Galley proof is formed for author approval.
8. Typesetting and final editing occur after galley proof approval.
9. Manuscript is published online. Hard copies are on demand by written request.

NJPB operates strict ethical standards. Authors must avoid data fabrication/falsification, duplicate submission, duplicate publication, unethical citation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Compliance with relevant research regulations is mandatory. Authors must have:

• Substantial participation in conception/design or data analysis/interpretation
• Substantial participation in manuscript drafting/editing
• Final approval of the manuscript
• Ability to explain and defend the study in public or scholarly settings

One author (the corresponding/primary author) must take responsibility for:

1. The correctness of the data
2. Ensuring no deserving author is omitted
3. Final approval by all authors
4. Handling all correspondence

The corresponding author must send a direct mail or fill the Change in Authorship Form for changes to a submitted/published manuscript. If disputes cannot be resolved among authors, their institution should decide. The editor is not responsible for settling authorship disputes. Authorship changes after publication follow correction article policies.

Acknowledge contributors who do not meet authorship requirements and financial sponsors.

Manuscripts may also be submitted via the online submission form or as an email attachment to any editorial emails. Ensure manuscripts meet NJPB’s requirements and that all policies, ethics, and instructions are read and followed.

• Work must not have been published before (except as abstract or part of lecture/thesis)
• Manuscript must not be under consideration elsewhere
• No copyright infringement
• All co-authors and responsible authorities agree to submission/publication
• No ethical defaults
• Follows all instructions for authors
• Contact info for all authors (full names, affiliations, emails, phone)
• Disclosure of conflicts of interest

Authors should make materials, data, and procedures available for verification and replication. Any restrictions on material availability must be disclosed.

Conflicts of interest are situations in which financial or other personal considerations may compromise, or appear to compromise, judgment in research. All parties (authors, reviewers, editors) must disclose potential conflicts and all funding sources. Academic conflicts of interest (bias or personal interests affecting peer-review) must be declared and such individuals should recuse themselves from the review.

Corrections to published articles are authorized by the editor. Minor corrections may be made on the original article; major corrections may be published separately with reasons. Articles may be removed or retracted for legal or ethical reasons, scientific error, misconduct, or plagiarism.

Authors must avoid releasing details to the media before publication. Presenting at professional conferences is allowed, but not giving out significant material before publication. Press and public affairs may access articles after publication.

The Editorial Team includes the Editorial Committee, Committee on Ethics, Editors, Editorial Board, and Editorial Office Team (assistants). Editors and Board members are selected for qualifications, experience, international representation, and to maintain journal standards.Editors and Reviewers follow Editorial Guidelines. Interested individuals can apply for board membership via the Editorial Partnership form.