Manuscript submission
The manuscript file should be uploaded as editable text in an MS Word (.doc, .docx) format. Figures (photographs) should be uploaded also in separate files as BMP, JPG, TIFF; (minimum 300 dpi). The following types of original manuscripts that have not been published elsewhere are accepted: short research notes (4-5 pages), research articles (6-12 pages) and review articles (20-25 pages).
The manuscript has to be written in clear and comprehensible English without spelling mistakes and in impersonal style. All parts of the manuscript should be type-written (Times New Roman, font size 12), 1.5 spacing, with margins of 2.5 cm. Line numbers should be included continuous throughout the manuscript.
The manuscripts are submitted via email: agriculturalsciences@au-plovdiv.bg.
The authors bear the full responsibility of the content (methods, experimental data, conclusions etc.) of the manuscript. The authors are also responsible for the writing style, vocabulary and the scientific terminology in the manuscript. The manuscript authenticity is checked by a program for plagiarism.
Manuscript preparation
The manuscript should be divided into the following sections: Abstract (with Keywords), Introduction, Materials and methods, Results and discussion, Conclusions and References.
Latin words, phrases and abbreviations, including generic and specific names and direct quotations should be written in italic. The used metric units are according to the International System of Units (SI system).
Title:The title has to be descriptive, appropriate relevant and concise. It should adequately describe the content and/or purpose of the study.
Author(s): The authors should provide their full first name(s), middle initials and surname(s) in bold italic.
Affiliation(s) with а postal address: As complete as possible. The affiliation should be given in the following order – University (Institute), Faculty, Department, postal address, city, COUNTRY (in capital letters). The E-mail address is given only for the corresponding author!
Abstract: The abstract should be no less than 150 and up to 250 words in length. The abstract should state briefly the objective of the research, the main results and the general conclusions, without detailed description of methods and discussions. The references and abbreviations should not be included in the abstract.
Keywords: The keywords, between 4 to 6 words, has to be chosen considering the appropriate indexing of the manuscript and its retrieval from the search engines and scientific databases.
The Introduction: The introduction should contain the most relevant available research information which present the background of the subject matter. It should clearly explain the purpose of the current study, experimental hypothesis, research questions and objectives in the context of the research area.
Materials and Methods: The materials and methods should provide information of the objects, species, media, chemicals, apparatuses, instruments etc. The exhaustive explanation of the procedure is necessary only if new methods are used. The well-known methods and techniques can be presented by a brief explanation of the procedure and an adequate reference(s) citation.
Results and discussion: The results and discussion section should summarize the original results from the study in comparison to the findings of other research and to discuss the contribution of the study to the corresponding scientific area.
Conclusions: The conclusions should briefly explain significance of the research, shortly describe the main contributions and to provide some recommendations.
Acknowledgments: The acknowledgment should include all sources of institutional, private or corporate funding of the study. Any potential conflicts of interest should be noted.
Tables: The tables should have a specific, precise, clear, explanatory caption. Each table must be referred to in the text as Table 1 or (Table 1). The tables must be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript.
Figures: The figures should comply to the size of the type area (up to 16 × 24 cm) which is the limit for all illustrations. The illustrations must be 300 dpi or 600 dpi and the following formats are acceptable: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, EPS. Figure files should not exceed 10 MB (the average size is about 2 MB). The figures must be numbered consecutively and should be provided with an explanatory legend below them.
Example:
Fig. 1. Distribution and infestation of Myzus persicae on peach in Bulgaria during 2013/2017.
All tables and figures must be referred to in the text!
References: The references should be selective rather than extensive (with the exception of the review articles). If the original literature cited has not been available the authors should indicate the source whcih have been used. All references must be on the reference list following the adopted from
the Journal APA (American Psychological Association) style for referencing (7th edition – 2020).
For example:
Hamilton, A., & McBrayer, J. (2020). Do Plants Feel Pain? Disputation: International Journal of Philosophy, 12(56), 71–98. https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2020-0003.
Cotado, A., & Munné-Bosch, S. (2020). Plasticity in the growth habit prolongs survival at no physiological cost in a monocarpic perennial at high altitudes. Annals of Botany, 125(3), 413–421. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcz202.
1. In-Text Citation
These citations include the surname of the author and the date of publication only.
For example: (Hamilton, 2020).
In the case of two authors:
For example: (Hamilton & McBrayer, 2020).
In the case of three or more authors add „et al.“ after the first author’s surname.
For example: (Hamilton et al., 2020).
In case the author of the cited source is unknown, the first few words of the reference should be used. This is usually the title of the source. If this is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or report, is should be italicised.
For example: (Annals of Botany, 2020).
If this is the title of an article, chapter or web page, it should be in quotation marks.
For example: (“Do Plants Feel Pain ”, 2020).
Citing authors with multiple works from one year:
For example: (Hamilton, 2020a) Or (Hamilton, 2020b).
Citing multiple works in one parenthesis:
(Hamilton, 2013, 2017, 2020).
(Cotado, 2017; Hamilton & McBrayer 2020; Munné-Bosch, 2015, 2020a, 2020b; Vasilev et al., 2020).
Citing a group or an organization: (National Agricultural Workers Survey, 2020).
2. Citing a journal article in print
Lulcheva, Ivanka (2016). Service quality in four-star hotels in Bulgaria – evaluation, analysis and trends. Agricultural Sciences, 8 (20), 207-211.
3. Citing an online journal article
Hamilton, A., & McBrayer, J. (2020). Do Plants Feel Pain? Disputation: International Journal of Philosophy, 12(56), 71–98. https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2020-0003.
DOIs are formatted the same as URLs.
https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcz202
In case, if there is no DOI number assigned and the reference was retrieved online, you can use the URL of the journal homepage:
Cotado, A., & Munné-Bosch, S. (2020). Plasticity in the growth habit prolongs survival at no physiological cost in a monocarpic perennial at high altitudes. Annals of Botany, 125(3), 413–421. https://academic.oup.com/aob/issue/125/3.
4. Citing a book in print
Ebbels, David L. (2003). Principles of Plant Health and Quarantine. CABI Publishing.
5. Citing an e-book
Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy: Stars and satellites. Springer Nature. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2.
6. E-book without known author:
Techniques for work with plant and soil nematodes. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20203549118
7. Proceeding:
Papafilippaki, A., Velegraki, D., Vlachaki, C., & Stavroulakis, G. (2008). Levels of heavy metals and bioavailability in soils from the Heraklion-Crete industrial area, Greece. In Proceedings of the “Protection and Restoration of the Environment IX”. (pp. 979-985). Kefalonia, Greece. Retrieved from: pre14.civil.auth.gr.
8. A book chapter:
Compant, S. & Vacher, C. (2019). Sources, niches and routes of colonization by beneficial bacterial endophytes. In Shouten, A. (Ed.). Endophyte biotechnology: potential for agriculture and pharmacology. (pp. 32-41). CABI Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781786399427.0032.
9. Website:
“Quick Answers—References”. (2021). Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/learn/quick-guide-on-references.
10. Transliteration:
The Streamlined System is the official transliteration system in Bulgaria, adopted by the Transliteration Law (2009/2019).
In transliteration, letters are replaced as following:
А – A, Б – B, В – V, Г – G, Д – D, Е – E, Ж – Zh, З – Z, И – I, Й – Y,
К – K, Л – L, М – M, Н – N, О – O, П – P, Р – R, С – S, Т – T, У – U,
Ф – F, Х – H, Ц – Ts, Ч – Ch, Ш – Sh, Щ – Sht, Ъ – A, Ь – Y, Ю – Yu, Я – Ya
The titles of the transliterated documents should be translated into English.
Example:
Bozhanova, V., Dechev, D., & Todorovska, E. (2009). Izpolzvane na genotipnite razlichiya v sposobnostta za osmoregulaciya v selekciyata po suhoustoichivost [Use of genotypic differences in the ability to osmoregulate in drought resistance selection.]. Field Crops Studies, 5, 21-32. [in Bulgarian].
Valchev, D., Valcheva, D., & Georgiev, G. I. (2005). Kombinativna sposobnost na sortove pivovaren echemik po priznaka sadarzhanie na voda v listata na rasteniyata [Combinatorial ability of brewing barley varieties on the basis of water content in the leaves of plants]. In: Balkanska nauchna konferenziya, Karnobat [Balkan Scientific Conference, Karnobat], 1, (pp.169-173). [in Bulgarian].
Otchet za deynostta na rakovodstvoto na Agrarniya universitet prez perioda noemvri 1999 – noemvri 2003 g. [Report on the activity of the management of the Agricultural University during the period November 1999 – November 2003] (2003). Plovdiv: Akad. izd. na AU. [in Bulgarian].