Instructions to Authors

Instructions to Authors
Plant Breeding and Seed Production is a journal biannually published by the Serbian Association of Plant Breeders and Seed Producers. The journal publishes manuscripts on plant breeding and seed production in the following categories: original scientific papers, review papers, brief communications, scientific polemics, professional papers, expert comments and book reviews. Manuscripts submitted to this journal must not have already been published nor under consideration for publishing elsewhere. The official languages of the journal is Serbian, English and Russian. The authors propose the category for their manuscript, but it may not be accepted. The journal also publishes news, documents and technical reports significant for the field of plant breeding and seed production, as well as, reviews with no category.

Preparation of manuscripts
Manuscript length depends on the category: 10 pages for the original scientific papers, 8-15 pages for the review papers, 4 pages for the brief communications, up to 12 pages for the scientific polemics, 4-6 pages for the professional paper, up to 3 pages for the expert comments and one page for the book review. As the journal publishes shortened versions of M.Sc. and PhD theses, lengths of these theses should not exceed 15-20 pages.
Font and language: manuscripts are written in Latin alphabet in Serbian (with the summary in English); in English (with the summary in Serbian) and in Russian (with the summary in Serbian and English). The manuscript text is written in Microsoft Word, in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced throughout and all four margins are 2.5 cm.
If the manuscript is written in Serbian or Russian language Summary in English should be written in an extended form. Summary should follow the structure of the manuscript, and should amount 1/10 of the manuscript (1.500 characters).
The title is written in bold capital letters, while the alignment is centered. Subtitles (Introduction, Material and Methods, etc.) are bolded with the left aligned. Pages and lines should be numbered (line numbers start from 1 on each page) in order to facilitate reviewing. Tables with their captions in Serbian and English are placed at the end of the text below the References. Tables and Figures should be referred to within the text. Each figure and photo should be submitted in the independent file of high quality. The acceptable file formats are JPEG (.jpg), TIFF (.tiff) or similar. Files should be labeled by ordinal number as given in the text (Fig. 1, Photo 1). Figures and Photos captions and legends in Serbian and English should be placed in the text under the appropriate number.
The abbreviations of the International System of Units (SI) should be used for measurement units and symbols in accordance with the recommendations given in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It should be used g kg-1 rather than g/kg. Single-digit whole numbers (1-9) should be spelled, while numerals should be used for numbers greater than nine. Commas should be used as decimal points (0,758) if the text is written in Serbian or Russian, and periods (0.758) if the text is written in English. Two consecutive numbers are spaced with a semicolon (25; 24). Full names of abbreviations should be spelled out at the first mention in the text (e.g. International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)).
The equation editor for mathematical formulae should be used whenever possible for formulae. The Symbol or SimbolProp BT should be used for Greek alphabet and symbols.
Names of genes, species and genera (Zea mays L.), as well as symbols, should be italicized.

Submission of manuscripts
Authors submit their manuscripts in the electronic form to one of the following mail addresses: vbabic@mrizp.rs; jsrdic@mrizp.rs; sandra.cvejic@ifvcns.ns.ac.rs, including cc address of the Association: office@dsss.org.rs
After the reception, the manuscript goes through the preliminary check by the Editors in order to establish whether the proposed criteria are fulfilled. The manuscript and its parts are also checked for plagiarism.
Upon receiving the manuscript the authors will be noticed by e-mail. Only manuscripts that are prepared according to the instructions will be sent for the review. If the manuscript is not prepared according to instructions, it will be returned to authors with remarks and comments.
After that the Statement will be sent to the first author, by signing which authors will guarantee that the manuscript is their original work, not published elsewhere, not being considered for publication with other publisher, or being part of some other publication, approved by all co-authors, if there are, and approved implicitly or explicitly by the authorities of the institution where the research has been performed.
Authors bear all the responsibility for the content of submitted manuscripts, as well as the correctness of experimental results. Authors must obtain permission for publication of data from all parts involved in the research.
Authors who wish to include pictures or text parts that have already been published elsewhere are obliged to obtain consent of copyrights holder and to provide proofs when submitting the manuscript. Material without those proofs will be considered as the author’s original work.
Author guarantee that as the co-authors are listed only persons that have substantially contributed the paper, accordingly that all the persons that have been substantially contributed the paper are listed as co-authors.

The following sections of the manuscripts are strictly recommended:

Title pageis the first page of the manuscript that compulsory includes the title spelled in capital bolded letters, under which are given full first and last names of authors (capital initial letters). A superscript symbol asterisk (*) should be used to indicate the corresponding author. Proposed category of the manuscript should be given in the dedicatory footnote, and also, last names and initials of the authors as well as names and addresses of their affiliations. The e-mail address of the corresponding author should be inserted into the footnote. A running title not exceeding 90 characters should be provided at the end of the title page, if not, the Editor-in-Chief will give the running title.
The succeeding page should contain the Abstract in the language of paper, having 150-300 words which should concisely point to the content, objectives and obtained results. The Abstract is followed by not more than seven key words. At that, words from the title should not be repeated.
Text of the manuscript should contain the following sections:

Introduction The Introduction should contain information that provide the comparison of performed studies with studies carried out by other authors within the given field of research and to provide a background on the importance of the study in relation to contemporary research. At the end of the Introduction, a few sentences should indicate the purpose and essence of the given studies.
Material and Methods This section should contain a concise and clear description of the materials used and methods applied in the study in sufficient detail so that the experiment could be repeated. New methods should be described in detail, while routine methods should be briefly described and supported by the appropriate reference. This section is not necessary in review papers, professional papers and scientific polemics.
Results and Discussion Results and Discussion could be given in two independent sections if authors think that it will be better for readers. The Results should be clearly and concisely presented and should not be repetitive. The Discussion should not be limited to summarizing obtained results, but should provide the interpretation of results and the connection with results gained by other authors. Obtained results can be consistent with or contrary to results obtained in previous studies. The Discussion should point out to the importance of presented results for further research.
Conclusion This section not exceeding 10% of the total text should summarize the most important results in a few sentences and should point out to the significance of performed study. The conclusion usually does not contain citation, but should briefly indicate the significance of the obtained results for the reader or the subject of the research.
Acknowledgement The institutions or individuals who contributed in any way during carrying out of the studies are mentioned in the Acknowledgement. Sources of financing can also be stated.
References Cited references should be given in the original form and ordered alphabetically by the first author. If references by the same authors appear several times they should be chronologically cited. For multiple citations with the same first author, single-author entries should be listed by year using 2006a, 2006b, etc., while multiple-author entries should be listed alphabetically by the second and successive authors.
Citations in the text should be given in brackets: (Perić, 2007); (Perić and Petrović, 2009); (Petrović et al., 2010). Characters ć, č, đ, š, ž should not be omitted in name of authors. If manuscripts are written in English the citations should be given as follows: (Ortiz, 2006); (Ortiz and Wagoire, 2010); (Ortiz et al., 2012). Or "according to studies carried out by Perić et al. (2010)..."
Sample references citations:

Sample journal citations:

Babić M, Bauer I, Babić V, Filipović M, Anđelković V (2009): Genetic divergence of different temporal cycles of selection. Maydica, Vol 54 (2-3): 221-228.
Reif JC, Hamrit S, Hechenberger M, Schipprack W, Maurer HP, Bohn M, Melchinger AE (2005): Trends in genetic diversity among European maize cultivars and their parental components during the past 50 years. Theor. Appl. Genet. 111: 838-845.

Sample chapter-in-book/monograph citation

Crossa J, DeLacy IH, Taba S (1995): The use of multivariate methods in developing a Core Collection. In T. Hodgkin et al. (ed) Core Collections sources. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 77-89.
Antić J (2007): Oplemenjivanje graška. U Mikić S (ured.), Oplenjivanje biljaka. Forum, Novi Sad, 21-38.

Sample book/monograph citation

Borojević S i Borojević K (1976): Genetika. Poljoprivredni fakultet Novi Sad, Novi Sad.
Hallauer AR and Miranda JB (1988): Quantitative genetics in maize breeding. Iowa State University Press, Ames, USA.

Sample book of proceeding citation

Radović G and Jelovac D (1994): The possible approach in maize core collection development. Evaluation and exploitation of genetic resources: pre-breeding. In: Proc. Genetic Resources Section Meeting of Eucarpia. 15-18 March, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 1096-115.

Sample electronic source citation

Casler MD, Jung G, Bughrara S, Hamblin A, Williamson C, Voigt T (2007): Development of creeping bentgrass with multiple pest resistance. USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research. Available in http://usgatero.msu.edu/v05/n18.pdf. (15. February, 2009).

Sample official document citation

OJ, 1990. Directive 90/429/CEE of the Council of June 26. Official Journal of European Union L 224 18/08/1990.p. 62
UPOV, TG/1/3 (2002): General introduction to the examination of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability and the development of Harmonized Descriptions of new Varieties of Plants. Available in http://www.upov.int/

Tables and Figures. Tables are given at the end of the text, accompanied with the appropriate numeration and captions in Serbian and English. Tables should be created in the Word program, should have defined cells, which should not be formed by using space bar and/or tab keys on the keyboard.Vertical gridlines should be hidden, while horizontal ones should be visible only where necessary (header and the bottom of the Table). The additional explanations, if necessary, should be inserted below the Table. The position of Tables in the text should be indicated. Each figure and photo should be submitted in the independent file of high quality. The acceptable file formats are JPEG (.jpg), TIFF (.tiff) or similar, with maximum resolution of up to 300 dpi. Files should be labeled by the ordinal number as given in the text for the Figures or Photos. The captions and legends of Figures and Photos in Serbian and English should be placed in the text under appropriate number. If authors require the Figures and Photos to be printed in color, this service will be charged at the price list of the printing house.

Authors’ ethical responsibilities
After the preliminary acceptance of the paper, i.e. Editors decision to submit the paper to review, the first author will be asked to sign the Statement on behalf of the co-authors by which he/she confirms that:

All the co-authors are acquainted with instructions for authors defined in Editorial policy of the Journal, and that they have been followed during preparation of the manuscript.
The paper is the original manuscript of the authors.
The paper has not been previously published, except in the form of abstract in the Conference Book, nor that it is at the moment being considered for publication in other journal.
Presented results are original intellectual achievement and do not contain plagiarism.
No one else claims the right on the published results.
The paper does not contain anything that could in any way violate intellectual or other property of individual or legal entity.
Authors consent Serbian Association of Plant Breeders and Seed Producers the right to publish, multiply and present to the public accepted paper in the Open Access system.
There is no conflict of interest.
All co-authors are consent with authorship, submission for publication in the journal Plant Breeding and Seed Production, as well as the content of Statement signed by the first author.

Significant remarks

Editorial retains the right to check for plagiarism.
Changes in authorship and the order of co-authors are not possible after the acceptance of paper.
Before that changes could be accepted upon the written request, which in details explains adding/deleting/changes in order of co-authors. This must be signed by all co-authors and submitted to the Editorial of the Journal.
Confirmation that the paper will be published, could be issued upon the author’s request, and only if the paper has gone through the review process, corrections have been fulfilled and reviews have approved them. Earlier in the process of review it is not possible to issue the confirmation.
If after the publication is found that certain rights have been violated, there are conflicts of interests, or indications that the published paper is plagiarism, certain steps will be taken in accordance with the section “Dealing with problematic situations” which is in details described in Editorial policy of the Journal. (http://www.dsss.org.rs )

Compatibility with ethical standards
If the research involves experiments on humans or animals authors must specifically accent that the conducted researches are in accordance with certain ethical rules and standards.

Open access
As the journal Plant Breeding and Seed Production is in the open access system by signing the Statement all co-authors agree that their paper will be published in the OPEN ACCESS, i.e. it is fully accessible on the web site of the Serbian Association of Plant Breeders and Seed Producers: http://www.dsss.org.rs.

The manuscripts are reviewed by two anonymous reviewers, while the Editorial Board is responsible for the categorization of the manuscripts.

Detail information about editorial policy, obligations of editors, editorial, reviewers, and the review process could be found on the web site of the Journal.

THE JOURNAL IS INDEXED IN SCIndex (Serbian Citation Index)