Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country. Manuscripts submitted for publication must not have been previously published, and submission implies no concurrent submission elsewhere. 

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. All manuscripts should be written in English, with proper grammar and correct spelling. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you are satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

All manuscripts must be submitted via the online submission portal. Please note the following before uploading your manuscript: 

General Formatting Requirements

• All manuscripts must be written in English. 
• All manuscripts must be in Microsoft Word format (.docx).
  • Tables may be embedded in the manuscript file or as separate files.
  • Figures may be embedded in the manuscript file or uploaded separately as TIFF, JPG, EPS, PDF, or Postscript files. 
• All manuscripts must be formatted with double-line spacing. 
• Manuscripts must include the following sections: 
  • Title
  • Authors
    • Author addresses and acknowledgments are placed in footnotes on the first page. 
  • Abstract
    • An abstract is required for research reports and reviews and is recommended for cultivar release papers.
  • Keywords - please provide 3 keywords to inform online search engines. These should occur in the abstract and/or form part of the title or subtitle of the manuscript. 
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results (this may be combined with the Discussion section, if desired) 
  • Discussion (this may be combined with the Results section, if desired) 
  • Literature Cited

Figures and Tables

• Figures may be embedded in the manuscript or uploaded separately. 
  • Accepted formats include: TIFF, JPG, PDF, EPS, or Postscript file types.
• Tables can either be included in the manuscript file or as separate Word files (.docx). 
• Each figure and table must include a title (description)/legend and be labeled in numerical order (Figure or Table 1, Figure or Table 2, etc.). 
• All figure/table titles (descriptions) must be understood independently of the manuscript text, hence the title should be complete and informative.
• Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the table and are denoted in reverse alphabetical sequence (i.e., z, y, x, etc.).
• Figures and tables must use in-text citations to reference these throughout the manuscript. 

Units of Measurement

• The Journal of the American Pomological Society uses SI units of measurement. 

Literature Cited (References)

The J of APS style for listing in-line literature citations is the Harvard system, with the last name(s) of the author(s) and the year of the publication cited in the text. There is no comma between the name and the publication year.

List citations alphabetically (letter by letter not word by word) by last names of authors (then initials if last names are the same) and chronologically if duplicate author names appear. Authors are listed first by senior author (last name first, followed by initials) and then additional authors (same format, last name first, followed by initials).

• All literature cited or references must follow the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) style guide which can be found here: ASHS Style Manual.
• References must be listed at the end of the manuscript in alphabetical order by the first author's last name. 
  • If a name is followed by “Jr.” or a Roman numeral, the correct form is “Smith, Jr., BF,” or “Smith, II., BF. Do not include professional and honorary titles. 
  • If a work has no author, give the name of the publisher or the organization (committee, agency, etc.) responsible for the work. If no authority is known, credit the work to the publisher, not to "Anonymous".
  • If an editor or editors is given, their names are followed by “(ed.)” or “(eds.),” respectively, followed by a period. 
• For journal articles, include full author information, year, article title, journal abbreviation, volume, issue, page range, and DOI. For example:
  • Haynes KG, Zotarelli L, Christensen CT, Walker S. 2019. Early generation
    selection within a diploid hybrid Solanum tuberosum Groups Phureja and
    Stenotomum population for the intense yellow-flesh creamer potato market.
    HortScience. 54:2118-2124. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13576-18.
• Titles should be lowercase except for the first word, proper names, or certain foreign-language conventions. 
• Do not italicize or use quotation marks around the title of the published work. 
• Languages that capitalize nouns (such as German) retain their capitalization, but the rest of the title should follow style in lowercase. 
• Do not translate foreign titles into English unless a translated copy was used. 

Manuscript Submission Process

First-time users must register for an account. Returning authors should sign-in with your credentials.

• General Information: All information about your submission will be collected using a single submission form, including the title, authors, abstract, manuscript classification (research article, review, short paper, or cultivar description), and file quantities.
• Upload Files: A screen asking for the actual file locations (via an open file dialog). After completing this screen, your files will be sent to be converted to PDF for the peer review process. Valid manuscript file upload type is MS Word. 

Manuscript Classifications: 

• Research Article
  • Research articles are manuscripts that describe an original scientific experiment (study), description of the materials and methods used in the experiment (study), the results, discussion of the findings and implications of the results to the scientific and grower community. 
  • The following sections must be included: Title, Authors, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion (can be combined), Conclusions and Literature Cited (References). 
• Review Article
  • Review articles are scholarly pieces that summarize past and current research and include critical analysis for application to current pomology challenges. 
• Short Paper
  • Short papers are defined as those manuscripts not having more than 1,800 words (including references, table text, figure legends).
  • They may up to 2 tables or 2 figures (or one of each). Images should be scaleable.
• Cultivar or Germplasm Release
  • These are descriptions of new cultivars or germplasm releases including a short introduction, materials and methods, results (description of new cultivar or germplasm release), and availability for growers. 

Submitting Non-manuscript Files

• A cover letter is optional. If you include a cover letter, please upload it as a separate file. We encourage authors to recommend up to five potential reviewers in their cover letter.
• If you are re-submitting a previously rejected manuscript or submitting a revision, please upload a "Response to Reviewer" file that includes the previous paper’s manuscript number as well as a point-by-point response to the editor/reviewers’ comments.

Supplementary Material

• Supplementary material in support of your manuscript may be provided as part of your submission. This content must be uploaded separately as part of the submission process.
• General documentation should be in Word or PDF file format:
  
  • Supplementary tables and figures should be labeled ‘Figure S1’ and ‘Table S1,’ etc.
  • Each supplementary figure or table must have a corresponding legend included in the supplementary file.
• Supplementary tables may be uploaded as Excel files - .xls or .xlsx.
• Supplementary video of audio files must be uploaded individually into the system and should have a corresponding legend in a separate supplemental Word file or PDF. Audio file types include .avi, .mp3, and .wav.
• Video files types include .avi, .mpeg, and mp4. Files should be no more than 25MB. Other acceptable file types for supplementary data include: .ppt, .pptx, .tar, .vsd, .xml, zip.

Peer Review Process

The peer review process begins after the manuscript is submitted by the author(s).  Once received, the Editor-in-Chief will assign three (3) reviewers to the manuscript for peer-review. All reviews are conducted via a single blind process where authors names are revealed but reviewer names are not revealed. Pomology experts from around the world volunteer their time to review submissions to ensure they meet our high standards of scientific publication. 

The Journal of the American Pomological Society has a goal of receiving all reviews within 3 weeks of a reviewer receiving a submission for review, and an overall period from author submission to publication decision within 8 weeks. After a decision is made, the Editor-in-Chief will send a letter of decision to the Corresponding Author. 

Current Publication Charges

Research Articles and Reviews

• Non-Member Fee: $2,000
• APS Member Fee: $1,000
• Standard article
• Supplementary material will now be accepted

Short Paper Articles and Cultivar Descriptions

• Non-Member Fee: $700
• APS Member Fee: $500
• Maximum length: 1,800 words
• Maximum 2 scalable images, tables, or figures