The African Journal of Plant Pathology (Afr. J. Plant Pathol.) publishes original scientific articles, short communications and disease notes on all aspects of phytopathology on the population, organism, physiological, biochemical and molecular genetic level. Only papers containing new and significant information that advance knowledge in a relevant field of phytopathology and are written to a high standard according to the basic formal rules of scientific publishing will be considered for publication. Sequences will only be published when included in papers that clearly establish the importance and function of the gene(s) under study. Papers reporting routine control experiments will not be accepted.

The journal is eminently suitable for university teachers, researchers in universities, research institutes, and industry as well as for postgraduate and advanced students. The language of publication is English.

The journal includes 3 issues per year in which a review paper, original research papers, short notes and new disease reports are published.

Contributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication:

1-Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 20 double line spaced manuscript pages, including tables and illustrations)
2-Short communications (no more than 10 double line spaced manuscript pages including tables and figures)
3-Mini-review articles should be concise and no longer than 4-6 printed pages (about 12 to 18 manuscript pages). Mini-reviews are also peer-reviewed.
4-Disease notes (These are intended for new or unusual records in abstract form, with one or two references. Their length should not exceed 250 words).

1. Title page
The title should be brief but informative.

2. The Authors full name (if more than one, use andbefore the last name and indicate to whom correspondence should be addressed).

3. Affiliation(s)/ Address (es) should be complete, and should include a fax number and E-mail address for correspondence.

4. Abstract
Abstract (brief and informative, not to exceed 250 words). No abbreviations should be used in the abstract.

5. Key words
Key words (a maximum of 6, in alphabetical order, suitable for indexing). Key words should differ from words mentioned in the title.

6. Abbreviations
Abbreviations (arranged alphabetically; only those which are not familiar and/or commonly used).

7. Main text
The text must be developed under the following headings:

Introduction

Materials and methods

Results

Discussion

After the main text


8. Acknowledgements (also grants, support, etc., if any) should follow the text.

9. References
Literature references should be listed alphabetically, typed double-spaced, and in the text referred to by author name and year of publication enclosed in brackets, e.g. (Smith, 1990).

Citations of personal communications and unpublished data should be avoided.

Examples

Standard journal article

Jones CS (1980). A forecasting system for leaf blight of tomato. J. Phytopathol. 49: 460-469.

No author given

Anonymous (1947). The measurement of potato blight. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 31: 140-141.

Books

Singleton L, Mihail J, Rush CM (1993). Methods for Research on Soilborne Phytopathogenic Fungi. APS Press, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Chapter in a book

Jones CS, Smith N, Brown RS (1979). Biology of diseases caused by Botrytis spp. In: Smith N, Brown RS, eds. Diseases of Vegetables. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 40-49.

Published proceedings paper

McIntosh RA (1992). Catalogue of gene symbols for wheat. In: Miller TE, Kochner RM, eds. Proceedings of the Seventh International Wheat Genetics Symposium, 1987. Cambridge, UK: IPSR, 1225-1323

Dissertation or thesis

Lenne JM (1976). Studies of the Biology and Taxonomy of Colletotrichum Species. Melbourne, Australia: University of Melbourne, Ph.D. thesis.

Electronic publications

Gibbs MJ, Ziegler A, Robinson DJ, Waterhouse PM, Cooper JI (1996). Carrot mottle mimic virus (CMoMV): A second umbravirus associated with carrot motley dwarf disease recognized by nucleic acid hybridisation. Molecular Plant Pathology On-Line, http://www.bspp.org.uk/mppol/1996/1111gibbs. <Date accessed online: 15 March 2003>

10. Tables

Each Table should be typed on a separate page.
Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals, followed by the title.

Create tables using the "Table" function within the Wordprocessing package. Do not use spaces to align columns (select "range right", "range left" or "centre" as appropriate)

The only lines to print should be a horizontal line above and under the headings, and at the foot of the table

Each Table must be mentioned in the text.
Do not use abbreviations in the title.

11. Figures
Each figure should have a description title the figure titles must be provided at the end of the text.
Each Figure must be mentioned in the text and also send by e-mail as a separate file(s).
Figures should be in either .jpg or .gif formats.
Features should be clearly visible even on 640 x 800 VGA monitors.
Figures should be identified by Arabic numbers.

When a paper is received, the corresponding author will receive a manuscript number from the editorial office.

All papers will be peer reviewed by two or more referees.

The corresponding author can expect to hear a first decision within two months after submission

Proof correction

Proofs will be sent via e-mail as an Acrobat PDF (portable document format) file. The e-mail server must be able to accept attachments up to 1-2 MB in size. Acrobat Reader will be required in order to read this file. This software can be downloaded (free of charge) from the following Web site:

www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

This will enable the file to be opened, read on screen, and printed out in order for any corrections to be added. Further instructions will be sent with the proof. Proofs will be posted if no e-mail address is available; in your absence, please arrange for a colleague to access your e-mail to retrieve the proofs.

Proofs of the paper should be corrected, signed and returned without delay.

Because AJPP will be published freely online only for the first year (to attract a wide audience), authors will have free electronic access to the full text (PDF) of the article.

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis) that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher. Please fill in the form of Licence to Publish and send with the article when they submit it.

A $40 handling fee will be billed to the authors for each manuscript accepted for publication in AJPP. This fee will be waived by the Editors if the author is unable to pay. Author charges are implemented to fund the journal publishing, so that we can make the journal free online. Free publishing online ensures that your article will be read as widely as possible.)