Submissions

Author Guidelines

Manuscripts submitted to Agronomía Mesoamericana must comply with these guidelines and be prepared using the Mandatory Manuscript Template. Submissions that do not use the template or fail to meet the journal’s editorial requirements may be rejected during the preliminary evaluation.

Manuscript submission

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the Agronomía Mesoamericana website. To submit a manuscript, authors must be registered on the platform and log in to their account. Those who do not have an account must register before submitting.

Manuscripts must be original and unpublished and may not be simultaneously submitted, in whole or in part, to another journal, publisher, or entity that manages publication processes.

The Originality and Publication Authorization Letter must be submitted with the manuscript.

Works published by Agronomía Mesoamericana are disseminated electronically through the journal’s website.

The manuscript’s date of receipt is assigned once it meets the editorial requirements and is ready to be sent for peer review.

Types of manuscripts

Agronomía Mesoamericana publishes scientific articles, technical notes, analyses and comments, and literature reviews. The general characteristics and requirements of each manuscript type are defined below.

Scientific article

This type of manuscript presents original research with sufficient depth, methodological rigor, and contribution to knowledge. It must address a relevant problem within the field of study and present results and conclusions supported by the evidence obtained.

Its structure comprises the title, authorship and affiliations, abstract, resumen, keywords, palabras clave, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, acknowledgments—when applicable—conflict of interest, and references.

The maximum length is 30 pages in Word, prepared in accordance with the journal template.

Technical note

This type of manuscript includes, among others, studies related to the development, adaptation, or evaluation of techniques or methodologies, relevant preliminary results, or studies aimed at addressing specific problems through procedures used in professional practice.

The maximum length is 20 pages in Word.

The Editorial Board may reclassify a manuscript submitted as a scientific article as a technical note, or vice versa, according to its content, scope, and impact and based on the comments of the specialists who participated in the evaluation.

Analysis and comments

This type of manuscript presents a well-founded analysis of a specific situation related to the journal’s subject areas. It may include data, critical analyses, viewpoints, and observations supported by relevant scientific literature.

Its structure comprises an introduction, thematic development, conclusions, and the corresponding references. The maximum length is 20 pages in Word.

Literature review

This type of manuscript presents a compilation, critical analysis, and synthesis of the available knowledge on a topic relevant to the journal’s subject areas.

Literature reviews are published only by invitation of the Editorial Board and are prepared by specialists with an academic track record and publications related to the topic.

The maximum length is 30 pages in Word.

Manuscript format and structure

Manuscripts may be submitted in English or Spanish and must be prepared in Microsoft Word using the Mandatory Manuscript Template. The template establishes the general document format and provides specific instructions for the presentation of each section.

Before submission, all instructions enclosed in brackets and written in gray in the template must be removed.

The main content and presentation requirements for manuscripts are described below.

Title and running title

The title must be clear, concise, directly related to the research topic, and no longer than 14 words. It must not contain abbreviations or general expressions that do not provide relevant information.

The title must be provided in both English and Spanish.

When the work derives from a thesis, project, or other academic activity, this information must be indicated, together with the institution that supported it and the city and country.

The running title used in page headers must not exceed eight words.

Authorship and affiliations

The full given names and surnames of all authors must be provided without abbreviations. The total number of authors must not exceed six.

Affiliations must be presented from the most general to the most specific level and must include the institution, its academic or research units when applicable, the city, and the country.

An email address and ORCID identifier in the format https://orcid.org/... must be provided for each author. The corresponding author must also be clearly identified.

When several authors belong to the same institution, the same superscript number must be used to avoid repeating the affiliation.

Abstract

The abstract must be understandable without consulting the full manuscript, presented as a single paragraph, and no longer than 300 words.

It must be organized using the following headings:

Introduction. A brief statement that provides the rationale for the research is presented.

Objective. The objective is presented exactly as it appears at the end of the manuscript’s introduction.

Materials and methods. The study site, country, and study period are indicated, together with a summary of the methodology that includes the design, materials, variables evaluated, and analysis performed.

Results. Only the main results obtained are included.

Conclusions. The objective is addressed and the main conclusion derived from the results is explicitly stated.

For analyses and comments, as well as literature reviews, the Materials and methods and Results sections are not included; instead, the Introduction, Objective, Development, and Conclusions sections are used.

The abstract must not include bibliographic citations, figures, or tables. Acronyms or abbreviations must be defined the first time they are mentioned, and excessive use should be avoided.

Resumen

The resumen must fully correspond to the abstract in English, without adding, omitting, or modifying information. It must maintain the same structure and order of the sections and must not exceed 300 words.

Keywords and palabras clave

At least four keywords must be included. They may consist of more than one word but must not appear in the title.

The palabras clave in Spanish must correspond to the keywords in English and maintain the same number and order.

The use of standardized vocabulary, such as the AGROVOC thesaurus of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is recommended.

Overly general terms that do not contribute to the specific retrieval of the work should be avoided.

Introduction

The introduction must clearly present and justify the specific importance of the research topic, include relevant and up-to-date background information, and identify the problem or knowledge gap that motivated the study.

Information must be organized from general to specific. Information corresponding to materials and methods must not be included, and results or conclusions must not be presented in advance.

Every statement requiring support must be substantiated with bibliographic citations.

When a plant or animal species is mentioned for the first time, its scientific name must be written in italics and accompanied by the corresponding taxonomic classification and common name, when applicable.

The section must end with the research objective, worded exactly as presented in the abstract.

The introduction must not exceed 1000 words and must not include tables or figures.

Materials and methods

This section must clearly indicate where, when, and how the research was conducted and provide sufficient information to allow the study to be reproduced.

The location, institution, city, country, period, and, when applicable, the season in which the study was conducted must be indicated.

The materials used, experimental design, treatments, number of replications, experimental unit, variables evaluated, measurement methods, study management, and conditions relevant to interpreting the results must be described.

When applicable, the geographic coordinates of the study site must be included.

Trade names must not be used to identify pesticides, other agrochemicals, or foods used in animal studies. For pesticides, the common name of the active ingredient must be followed by the chemical name in parentheses. A trade name may be used only when it corresponds to a particular formulation whose characteristics may affect the results; in such cases, its inclusion must be justified and the relevant formulation or composition described.

For specialized analytical or measuring equipment, the brand and model must be indicated when their characteristics may influence the results or when this information is necessary to reproduce the study. Trade names of general-purpose equipment must not be included unless the equipment has particular characteristics that may affect the results.

The methods used must be described precisely. Quantities must be expressed as exact values or defined ranges, and imprecise expressions that create uncertainty regarding the procedures performed must be avoided.

The statistical analysis must be described in sufficient detail and include the models and tests applied, the significance level, and the software used, including its version number.

Quantities, units, and symbols must be expressed in accordance with the International System of Units.

Results

Results must be presented clearly, in an organized manner, and in direct relation to the research objective.

The section must begin with the main findings and explicitly describe the relevant results without leaving readers to identify or summarize the principal findings.

Results must not be interpreted or discussed in this section. Bibliographic citations must not be included in the description of the findings.

Information presented in tables or figures must not be repeated in full in the text. Tables and figures must be used to support the communication of the main findings.

Statements must be supported by the results obtained. Statements that go beyond the evidence provided by the research must not be made.

Tables

In manuscripts written in English, the term Table must be used.

Each table must be placed immediately after the paragraph in which it is first mentioned.

The title must be placed above the table and allow its content to be understood without referring to the manuscript text. It must indicate the site and period in which the research was conducted.

Titles and notes must be provided in both English and Spanish.

The table, including its title and notes, must not exceed one page. The content and notes must be presented in Arial font, with a minimum size of 10 points and single spacing.

Vertical lines and internal horizontal lines must not be used. Only the horizontal lines necessary to delimit the header and bottom of the table should be included.

All acronyms, abbreviations, symbols, statistical tests, and other elements required to understand the information must be explained in the corresponding note.

Tables must be provided in editable format and not as images.

Figures

Figures include graphs, diagrams, illustrations, and photographs that provide relevant information about the study. Merely decorative figures and pie or three-dimensional charts must not be included.

Each figure must be placed immediately after the paragraph in which it is first mentioned.

The title must be placed below the figure and allow its content to be understood without referring to the manuscript text. It must include the site and period in which the research was conducted.

Titles and notes must be provided in both English and Spanish.

Text included within figures and in their notes must be presented in Arial font with a minimum size of 10 points and must be legible.

Figures must have a minimum resolution of 250 dpi and must not appear pixelated. When they have been created using software compatible with Microsoft Word, they must be inserted in an editable format. In addition to being incorporated into the manuscript, figures must be submitted as separate files in JPG, EPS, or TIFF format.

Equations

Equations must be mentioned in the text before they appear and numbered consecutively according to their order of appearance.

They must be created using the Microsoft Word equation editor or other compatible software that allows editing and must not be inserted as images.

Terms in equations must be written in italics. A space must be left before and after mathematical operators.

After each equation, all terms must be explained in the same order in which they appear, and their units of measurement must be indicated when applicable.

Notation must remain consistent throughout the manuscript, and the same symbol must not be used to represent different concepts.

Discussion

The discussion must interpret the meaning of the results and explain why the findings may have occurred.

Similarities and differences with other studies must be analyzed using relevant and up-to-date literature, together with the possible causes of expected, unexpected, or contradictory results.

The limitations of the study must be stated and, when applicable, their potential effects on the findings must be explained.

The description of the results must not be repeated, and information belonging to the background or rationale of the study must not be included.

Further research related to the findings may be proposed. Commercial recommendations must not be made on the basis of specific studies that have not been validated under commercial conditions.

Conclusions

The conclusions must directly address the research objective and be written clearly, concisely, and precisely.

They must derive from the results presented and highlight the specific contributions of the study to knowledge. Conclusions that are not supported by the results obtained must not be formulated.

The description of the results must not be repeated, and this section must not be used as a general summary of the manuscript.

Conclusions must not be numbered or contain acronyms or abbreviations; terms must be written in full.

Acknowledgments

This section is optional and may be used to acknowledge individuals or institutions that funded, advised, or supported the research.

When an individual is mentioned, their full name, institutional affiliation, and a brief description of their contribution to the study must be provided.

Conflict of interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, or institutional conflict of interest that may have influenced or could be perceived as having influenced the study.

When no conflicts of interest exist, the statement included in the template must be retained:

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to this study.

Use of sources and third-party materials

Ideas, data, methods, and results derived from other works must be acknowledged through the corresponding citations.

Only references to sources that have been consulted directly may be included. References must not be copied from other publications without consulting the original source, and secondary citations must not be used.

Information obtained from private sources may be used only with the consent of the person or entity responsible for that information.

When tables, figures, photographs, or other materials created by third parties are used, the source must be clearly identified and the corresponding authorization obtained when required.

References

Citations and references must follow APA Style, 7th edition.

References should not be more than ten years old, except when they correspond to classic works or sources that are indispensable to the study.

Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every reference included in the list must be cited in the manuscript.

Unpublished works are not accepted as references.

Each reference must be presented as a separate paragraph, in editable text format and with a hanging indent. The reference list must not be inserted as a single block or as a bibliographic field linked to reference-management software, because each entry must be individually selectable during the editorial process.

For individual authors, surnames and initials must be presented in accordance with APA 7. Surnames must be reproduced exactly as they appear in the original publication. For corporate or institutional authors, the full name of the organization must be used.

DOIs must be presented as links (https://doi.org/...). When no DOI is available and an electronic address is appropriate, the official URL must be used.

The Mandatory Manuscript Template contains additional instructions and examples of the citation and reference types most frequently used by the journal.

General writing and presentation guidelines

The manuscript must be written impersonally and in the third person. First-person expressions must not be used.

The past tense must be used to describe the methodology and results; the present tense must be reserved for current knowledge, interpretations, or conclusions.

Paragraphs must be clear and concise, contain a minimum of three sentences, and not exceed 120 words.

Each paragraph must develop a central idea through a logical and coherent structure.

Connectors, gerunds, and adverbs ending in “-ly” should be used only when necessary, precise, and unambiguous.

Sentences must not begin with bibliographic citations. In multiple parenthetical citations, sources must be arranged alphabetically. The expression “et al.” must not be italicized.

In manuscripts written in English, a period must be used as the decimal separator.

For negative values and subtraction, the minus sign (−), not the hyphen (-), must be used. A space must be left before and after mathematical operators.

A space must separate numerals from unit symbols and the percent sign; for example: 10 kg, 25 °C, and 30 %.

Use commas to separate groups of three digits in numbers of four or more digits; for example: 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, and 10,000,000. Do not use periods or spaces as thousands separators.

Scientific names must be written in italics and in full at first mention. The complete scientific name must be repeated in titles, subtitles, table and figure titles, and at the beginning of a sentence.

Names and abbreviations of treatments, variables, materials, locations, and other elements must remain consistent throughout the manuscript.

When authors wish to include the research dataset as supplementary material, the editorial team must be consulted beforehand.

Professional language editing requirement

When a manuscript has significant writing problems, the editorial team may require professional language editing as a condition for proceeding toward acceptance.

The language editing must be supported by an official certificate issued by a professional copyeditor.

This requirement may be imposed after peer review, once the scientific content has been evaluated, if substantial writing problems are still identified.