Guidelines | Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science

The Cuban Journal of Agricultural Sciences is published as a continuous publication with one volume per year. It is open access and it is published by the Editorial from the Institute of Animal Science, belonging to the Ministry of Higher Education, of the Republic of Cuba.

Its mission is to publish quality papers, which demonstrate technical and scientific developments, as well as theoretical and practical knowledge generated in the agricultural and livestock field. Its objective is to share, with the scientific community, research results developed in this specialty, mainly those that take place in tropical and subtropical areas.

The journal comprises the following topics, applied to the agricultural field: mathematics, economics, animal genetics, animal science (physiology, nutrition and management of ruminants and non-ruminants, microbiology and biotechnology), pastures, forages, and other plants used in livestock, rural development, environment, sustainable agricultural systems, knowledge management, technology transfer, technological innovation and extension processes.

The papers publish in the Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science are indexed in SCOPUS, Redalyc, EBSCO, Latindex, Academic Search Premier, Fuente Academica Plus, CAB Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database and MIAR.

Papers sent by authors should be unedited and original. They should constitute a scientific knowledge contribution, with focus on the problems of tropical and subtropical areas.

Papers will undergo an anonymous, blind and triple review process. This will be performed by internal and external evaluators from the Editorial Board, which are prestigious experts from the international scientific community. Each volume will report the corresponding reviewers. Acceptance or rejection of any paper is under the responsibility of the Editorial Board and it is not open to appeal.

Paper preparation

The writing of the paper should be clear and precise, according to the rules of scientific writing. It should be presented in Microsoft Word format, in Times New Roman letter size 12, margins of 2.5 cm, enumerated pages and lines and space 1.5 between lines.

The journal will accept reviews, research papers and technical notes. In addition, in case it is necessary, the journal will include editor letters, PhD and Master thesis abstracts, as well as book synopsis that will appear as review, and will be part of the bibliographic stock of the Institute of Animal Science. Papers will be placed in the OJS website of the journal (cjascience.com) or can be sent to cjascience18@gmail.com.

Attached to the paper, a formal letter signed by authors and coauthors should be sent, manifesting their authorization for its publication, stating that it has not been published before, as well as the absence of interest conflicts among authors. It should also state that publishing rights are transferred to the Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, for its future distribution. Paper can also be sent by mail to the following address:

Editorial Director

Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science

Carretera Central km 47 y medio, San José de las Lajas

Mayabeque, Cuba

For accepting papers, these instructions to authors must be fulfilled. This journal does not accept preprint papers.

Papers should be written in English or Spanish and there are three types of contributions:

Research paper

It reports results that contribute to scientific or technological knowledge, using an experimental design, statistical analysis and a deep discussion of the results, supported by updated scientific literature. It will include the following parts:

Title: It reflects the content of the paper or the main results. It should be short, accurate and concise to catch the interest of the reader. Do not use abbreviations and the scientific name of the species should always be accompanied by the common name in parenthesis.

Author(s): Author or authors of a paper are those who directly participate in its design, performance, analysis and writing. Names and last names of all the authors and coauthors should be mentioned as follows: initials of names and full last name for male authors (e.g., R.F. Fernández) and full first name, initial of the second name and last names for female authors (e.g., María R. Acosta Fernández). Authors should apper with their ORCID number.

Affiliation: Full name, address and email of the affiliation of every author should be included. In order to differentiate them, put a number in the form of a superscript at the end of the last name of every author and refer to it at the beginning of every affiliation.

Abstract: This section is highly consulted. It should not exceed 250 words in extension and it will contain study objectives, design and experimental method, treatments, main results that support the objectives and conclusions. Do not use abbreviations, references or adjectives. It should offer the largest possible amount of numerical data with its statistical significance.

Key words: They designate and identify the aspects of greatest importance in the paper. They are useful for locating information of interest and create databases and indexes of topics. It is recommended not to use words from the title. At most, five key words should be provided.

Introduction: In this section, there should be a short and concise explanation of the need and importance of the research and the objective of the paper will be clearly stated. Use only the necessary updated references and most of them will be included in the discussion of results.

Materials and Methods: It will offer the necessary information for reproducing the research. The use of subheadings (treatments, experimental design and procedure) is suggested. Experimental design, statistical analysis, sampling methods and systems, analytical methods and procedures, accompanied by the bibliographical citations, should be reported. Technical modifications and procedures will be explained in a detailed form.

Results and Discussion: It will be presented in one or two sections, according to the interest of the author. Results may be reported by means of tables and figures that will be inserted in the text after the paragraph in which they are mentioned the first time. They should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they are cited. Figures should not duplicate the data in the tables. If a chart is included, it should have a simple structure and be easy to understand. In the Discussion, attained results should be explained in a clear, precise and direct form and the biological mechanisms will be stated, as well as their possible effects related to results. They will be supported by the correspondent updated references. The discussion will finish with conclusions according to the research objectives. References to be used for supporting and debating results should be updated and within the period of the last five years. For supporting one statement, do not exceed too much in the number of citations. If the citation has two authors, write both last names and the year of publication (e.g., Gutiérrez 2004 and González and Hernández 2004). If there are three authors or more, the last name of the first author will be used with the words et al., followed by the year of publication (e.g., Pérez et al. 2004). In the text, references are ordered chronologically (e.g., Martínez 1998 and Ortega et al. 2003), but if years coincide, the citation will be order alphabetically (e.g., Álvarez 2002 and Núñez 2002). If the authors and the publication year coincide, the citations will be differentiated by letters after the year (e.g., Serrano et al. 2001a and Serrano et al. 2001b and Valdés 2001a and Valdés 2001b). The letter after the year should also appear in the list of references at the end of the paper.

Acknowledgements: The author may recognize briefly the work of people and institutions that collaborated in the research.

References: They will be written at the end of the paper and they will be alphabetically ordered according to the last name of the first author. In case the first author coincides, the second author should be used and so forth. The use of a reference manager is mandatory.

Paper extension: It should not exceed 12 sheets.

Review paper

Review papers are compilation studies on any particular subject to collect, analyze and discuss previously published information and recommendations may be expressed for further strategies on the studied area. They will contain the following structure:

Title, authors and affiliation: They will be structured as in the research paper.

Abstract: It will contain 250 words and report the objective and importance of the paper.

Key words: They will be included as in the research paper.

Content of the review: Subheadings, tables and figures should be included to facilitate its writing and understanding. Information will be compiled and a critical analysis should be performed supported by the use of references.

Conclusions: This section will be included at the end of Discussion.

References: They will be included as in the research paper.

Extension: This paper should not exceed 16 sheets.

Technical Note

It should present a description of a new food for animals, a recent creation of an equipment, a new species, crossbred or hybrid of plants and of technology transfer. This technical note should also include technologies or patents synthesis, substitution of raw materials or chemical reagents of common or specialized techniques, achievements of research centers and universities, preliminary studies of new breeds, crossbreeds and selection criteria procedures, and other aspects of scientific and technological interest.

The technical note does not require to be written divided into sections, although it should be structured as follows:

Title, author and affiliation: They will be structured as in the research paper.

Abstract: It will include 150 words, making emphasis on objective, results and conclusions of the paper.

Introduction, Materials and Methods and Results and Discussion: These sections should be written all together, not divided into subheadings.

The Introduction should be brief and aims to highlight the objective of the paper and its relation to the current scientific development.

The Materials and Methods should emphasize on the procedure.

The Results and Discussion should be clearly and concisely presented, with no more than two tables or figures. Up to 10 bibliographical citations should be used.

The Conclusions will appear at the end of the Discussion. The main value of this technical note lies on its currency, originality and synthesis.

References: They will be included as in the research paper

Extension: This article should not exceed 6 sheets.

General instructions for paper writting

Writing: Use clear, direct and precise language. Avoid unproper use of gerunds, compound times, qualifying adjectives and other terms that are not recognized in the scientific language such as neologisms, anglicisms and regional words. Do not use long sentences.

Tables: They should have the lowest possible number of rows and columns. Do not use abbreviations for treatments, but a simple description of them (for instance, do not write Treatment A, B, but control and 100 kg of N instead, respectively). Average values should be accompanied by the correspondent statistics, standard error and significance. If transformations are used, transformed value should appear and the original value should be included between parentheses. Letters as superscripts should be used to show the differences among means and the comparison test used should be noted at the bottom of the table. The exact probability value (P) should be stated. The number in order of the table and its title should appear at the top of the table. Tables of analysis of variance will only be accepted in the cases required for results interpretation.

Figures: They should contain the lowest possible number of curves. Table data should not be repeated. When regressions are reported, the dispersion points should be denoted and it should include the equation with its terms, standard error, coefficient of determination and its significance. The procedure will be the same for models. An adequate scale should be used. A table of values should be annexed to the paper for reproducing the figure. The number in order of the figure and its title should be written at the bottom of the figure. Symbols will be used to differentiate them (squares, triangles, circles). Figures with image format will not be accepted.

Photographs and images: They should have an optimal quality and good contrasts. Their location in the text should be marked. They should be in TIF or BMP format, in image files. They will be included only if they provide relevant information.

Diagrams: They will be only accepted in the cases in which they are needed for understanding the procedure or results. In the case of non-classical diagrams, the author should attach an explanation.

Nomenclature: Reference to paper titles and the first mentioning to animal and plant species (except domestic animals or crops) in the title or within the abstract or body of the paper will be given by their scientific names, followed by the author name. The names of authors should be completely cited, with the exception of Linneaeus (L) and Fabricius (F), according to International Codes of Zoological and Botanical Nomenclature. Common names, if internationally used, may also be included. Species may be cited by their generic name when another species of the same genus is not mentioned in the paper. In such case, the initial of the generic name and the full specific name may be used (e.g. L. leucocephala). Scientific names of animals, plants and microorganisms, as well as Latin words, should always be written in Italics (e.g., Leucaena leucocephala, Heteropsylla cubana, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, in vitro and in vivo).

References: This is one of the quality indicators of a research paper. They should be updated and the highest amount of them should be used in the Discussion section. They may be taken from scientific journals, books, theses, congresses, symposiums, and electronic documents. In the text, the lowest amount of selfcitations is recommended, as well as those of the same publication. The journal will not accept references from personal communications, unpublished data, referred citations, technical reports, reports from projects or from non-scientific publications.

In the list of references, they should be alphabetically ordered starting from the last name of the first author. If there is a coincidence of more than one author with the same last name, the second author will be used and so forth. For example:

Crespo, G. & Fraga, S. 2002. Technical note on the contribution of litter and nutrients to the soil by the species Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp and Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth in silvopastoral systems. Cuban J. Agric. Sci. 36:383

Crespo, G., Rodríguez, I. & Fraga, S. 2000. Estudio de la acumulación de hojarasca y nutrientes retornados al suelo en las especies Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth y Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. In: IV Taller Internacional Silvopastoril “Los árboles y arbustos en la ganadería tropical”. Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes Indio Hatuey, Matanzas, Cuba. p. 182).

If authors coincide, the difference will be made by adding letters after the year of publication

Díaz, M.F., Padilla, C., González, A. & Curbelo, F. 2001a. Agronomical features and nutritional indicators of grains in grouped maturity varieties of Vigna unguiculata. Cuban J. Agric. Sci. 35:271

Díaz, M.F., Padilla, C., González, A. & Curbelo, F. 2001b. Evaluación de especies de leguminosas temporales Cannavalia ensiformis, Lablab purpureus y Stizolobium niveum en producción de forrajes integrales y granos. In: I Simposio Internacional sobre Ganadería Agroecológico, SIGA 2001, La Habana, Cuba. p. 171).

The main references and the way of writing them in the list are stated as follows:

Research papers: Last name and initials of the name of the author(s), publication year, paper title, publication name (use international system of abbreviations), volume, issue between parenthesis, initial and page (e.g., Crespo, G., Lok, S. & Rodríguez, I. 2004. Production of leaf litter and contribution of N, P and K in two grasslands with different species composition. Cuban J. Agric. Sci. 38 (1):97-101, ISSN: 2079-3480).

Books: When the book was written by one or several authors, last name and initials of the author or authors are included, as well as publication year, book title, edition number, last name and initials of editors, publishing house, country and page (e.g., Bonilla, M. I. & Gárate, O. A. 2008. Fundamentos de fisiología vegetal. Azcón, B. J. & Talón, C. M. (eds.), 2nd ed., España: McGraw-Hill Interamericana de España, 280 p., ISBN: 978-84-481-5168-3, Available: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/libro?codigo=556962>, [Consulted: March 21, 2016].

Book chapters: Write the last name and the initial(s) of the name(s) of the author(s), publication year, chapter title, preposition In and then, the book title, edition number, last name and initial of the name of the editor(s), publishing house, country and page (e.g., Rivera, R., Fernández, F., Fernández, K., Ruiz, L., Sánchez, C. & Riera, M. 2006. “Advances in the management of effective arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in tropical ecosystesm”. In: Hamel, C. & Plenchette, C. (eds.), Mycorrhizae in Crop Production, Binghamton, N. Y.: Haworth Food & Agricultural Products Press, pp. 151–196, ISBN: 978-1-56022-307-8, Available: <www.amazon.com/Mycorrhizae-Crop-Production-Science/dp/1560223073>, [Consulted: June 12, 2016].

Thesis: Write the last name and the initial of the name of the author, publication year, title, specifying type of thesis (master or PhD), institution, province and country (e.g., Del Pozo, P.P. 1998. Análisis del crecimiento del pasto estrella (C. nlemfuensis) bajo condiciones de corte y pastoreo. PhD Thesis. Instituto de Ciencia Animal, La Habana, Cuba).

Technical bulletin: Write the last name and the initial(s) of the name(s) of the author(s), publication year, paper title, bulletin title, last name and initials of the name of the editor(s), publishing house, country and page (e.g., Cino, D.M., Sardiñas, O., Martínez, H.L., Padilla, C. & Sistach, M. 1988. Economía de la rehabilitación de pastizales. Technical bulletin. Serie Pastos, No. 4. EDICA, La Habana, Cuba, p.115).

Events, Symposiums and Workshops: Write the last name and the initial(s) of the name(s) of the author(s), publication year, paper title, full name of the event, symposium and workshop, editors (if any), country and page (e.g. Fita, A., Postma, J., Picó, B., Nuez, F. & Lynch, J. 2008. “Root architecture variation in Cucurbita”. In: Pitrat, M. (ed.), IX EUCARPIA meeting on genetics and breeding of Cucurbitaceae, Montfavet, France: INRA-Centre de Recherche d’Avignon-Unité Génétique et Amélioration des Fruits et Légumes, pp. 487–491, ISBN: 978-2-7380-1251-7, Available: <https://w3.avignon.inra.fr/dspace/handle/2174/254>, [Consulted: January 6, 2016].

Electronic publications: Write the last name and the initial(s) of the name(s) of the author(s), publication year, paper title, web page preceded by the words “available”, and consulting date preceded by the word “consulted” (e.g., Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas e Información (ONEI). 2014. Territorio; Agricultura, Ganadería, Silvicultura y Pesca. Anuario Estadístico de Cuba 2013, Available: <http://www.one.cu/aec2013/20080618index.htm>, [Consulted: April 29, 2016].

Statistical Aspects

Some statistical aspects that should be taken into account when writing the papers are:

In the text, in Materials and Methods section, an explanation of statistical models and methods used for data analyses should appear.
The sampling designs used should be stated and the size and number of selected sample units should also appear.
When applying classical designs (completely randomized design, random blocks, Latin squares, etc), information on the used mathematical model will not be necessary, only the name of the design, number of replications or repetitions are required, as well as any other information to clarify the application of this design.
When applying non-classical models, the mathematical model used should be indicated with the necessary explanation.
The used multiple comparative test (Duncan, Scheffé‚ Tukey, etc) should be stated.
Tables for the analysis of variance should only be reported when they offer important additional information. These tables should not be reported when using classical designs.
Tables of means that summarize the available information should be included. Original data should not be included, except in very specific cases that require this information.
The estimators of these means should be accompanied by their corresponding Standard Errors or any other dispersion indicators.
The “Standard Errors of differences between means” or the “Least Significant Differences” should not be included on the mean tables.
Superscripts can be added (to the means) for representing the multiple comparative tests, so as to simplify the interpretation of these comparisons and the real value of P. Notes explaining the application of these superscripts are required.
In case data is transformed with the objective of making valid the statistical analyses, transformed datum and its standard error, and between parenthesis the value of the original mean, will be informed.
The number of significant figures to be used in the representation of means should be as low as possible (2, 3 or 4 significant figures).
Tables should have a clear heading and report the measurement units used.
In case of using regression equations, standard error of parameters, coefficient of determination, level of significance (real value of P) and analysis of residues should be included. If models or regressions are included, selection criteria of this expressions will be reported.

Other instructions

Measurement Units: They will always be expressed as in the International System of Measurement Units. If any other measurement unit is necessary, it will be expressed first according to the International System of Measurement Units and then, between parentheses, its equivalent (e.g., 1 ha (2.47 acres)). Measurement units may be expressed as follows: kg/ha or kg ha^-1.

Equipment and instruments: The name of the equipment will be expressed and, between parenthesis, its brand and model.

Chemical products: When herbicides, insecticides and other chemical products are mentioned for the first time in the text, write the chemical or technical name and the commercial name between parentheses. Then, continue to use the chemical name.

Numbers: They will be written with letters, at the beginning of a paragraph and after a period or when they may cause doubts in the reading or interpretation (from 1 to 9). With positive and negative numbers, do not leave space between the number and the sign (e.g., -10 and 53). Always write two decimal numbers separated by a point (e.g., 153.79). When writing numbers in the order of thousands or more, use a comma to divide them (e.g., 13,571.26 and 18,937.20).

Time: Use ante meridian and post meridian to indicate the hour (e.g., 5:30 a.m. and 11:45 p.m.).

Abbreviations and symbols: They save space, but if use excessively, they may make difficult the understanding of the text. Try not to create abbreviations and, if necessary, write first the full name and then the abbreviation between parentheses (e.g., chemical composition (CC)). Symbols of chemical elements and the units of the International System of Measurement Units do not need the definition unless they may difficult the reading and understanding of the text.

The following abbreviations are recommended: