Instructions to Authors
Manuscripts should be written in good English and follow the IMRAD standard. Spellings in Oxford Dictionary, Chambers Dictionary and Thesaurus are accepted as standards.
- Titles should be concise and as much as possible start with a word which is useful for indexing. Titles beginning with “The”, “A”, “An”, “Some”, “New”, “Influence”, “Effects” and “Study” for instance should be avoided.
- An Abstract suitable for producing by abstracting journals is mandatory. It should be informative and not descriptive and must contain in brief, the objectives, methodology, the main findings and implications of the study. Maximum of 300 words.
- Keywords should be up to five with each paper, with a view to facilitating information retrieval. The main subjects or concepts should be listed first. Scientific names are preferred to common names. Specific terms such as names of taxa, chemicals or models may be included.
- The Introduction should provide a background to the study with a brief review of the literature. It should identify a significant problem and set the context for the research. The introduction should clearly state the objectives, the hypothesis and the significance of executing the study.
- Materials and Methods should describe all how the objectives will be met. Must show evidence of repetition and repeatability. It must identify statistical tests and data analysis protocols where necessary.
- Results should be presented in either text, tables or figures. Use the Systeme International (SI) Metric units decimal markers should be periods rather than commas. Decimal points must always be preceded by a cipher e.g. 0.79 and not .79.
- Discussion This section should be separate and discuss in detail, results of the study, making use of relevant literature in the subject area. It should be unambiguous, non-repetitive of the results section and should be related to the objectives the study set out to achieve.
- Tables must be referred to in the text, should be on separate pages with one table per page at the end of the text and numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. Words should be left-justified or centered while numbers are right- or decimal-justified. A short descriptive title should appear above each table with a clear legend and any footnotes suitably identified below. Each Table title should be in small case except for the first letter. Units of measure should be placed at the header of each column. All units must be included.
- Figures only essential to elucidate the text and self-explanatory can be published. Figures should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numeral regardless of whether they are photographs, line drawings, charts or graphs. Each Figure must be cited in text and the order of first reference must follow the consecutive numbers of the Figures. All Figure captions should be listed together at the end of the paper and not shown on the Figure itself, this also applies to legends for graphs. Letterings, line thickness, symbols and chart patterns should be bold and clearly legible. Charts should be black and white (not shades of gray or colours) with easily recognized patterns. Figures should be of a consistent size and high standard that can withstand reduction for final printing without losing quality. Figures should be completely labeled, taking into account necessary size reduction. All illustrations should appear at the end of the manuscript after references.
- References must be cited in the text by authors’ name(s) and year for example “(Ikotun and Ngere, 1999)” or “… as stated by Lucas and Akinsoyinu (2004)”. All references cited in the body of the manuscript should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order. Reference style is the old APA (EG: Author, A., and Author, B. (Year). Article title. Title of Periodical (in full and italicized), x(x), 1-6).
- The manuscript including the reference list should be typed 1.5 spaced in 12 point serif fonts (e.g. Times New Roman) with a left margin of 2.5 cm throughout the text. For tables, 1.5 spacing may be used. Generic and specific of organisms, and Latin words (et al; in vivo,) names should be Italicized.
- All manuscripts should be submitted in electronic form using MS Word to: journalofagricresearch@gmail.com with a short cover letter containing a statement of declaration that the article is original and has not been simultaneously send elsewhere for review.
- Following acceptance handling fees of N25,000 will be paid by authors in Nigeria and $100 by authors from outside the country.