About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Agronomía Mesoamericana is a continuous publication with an open issue that begins in January and closes in December, and was born on the XXXV Meeting of the Central American Strengthening of Crops and Animals Cooperative Program (PCCMCA, in Spanish), held in Honduras in 1989. Its purpose was to disseminate the research results that are presented in these annual meetings. The first volume was published and distributed in 1990, during the XXXVI Meeting of PCCMCA in El Salvador. Nowadays its objective is to disseminate scientific information through the publication original articles, short communications, technical notes and literature reviews, related with food and agriculture sciences from anywhere in the world, emphasized in tropical and subtropical zones. Aimed towards the area's scientific community, which includes researchers, academic professors and students.

Agronomía Mesoamericana publishes original articles on basic and applied research in food science, technology and engineering; specifically in topics that link food science and engineering with primary agro-industrial production and agricultural and veterinary sciences. The works may be related to microbiological, chemical, sensory, nutritional and physiological aspects of food. All papers should focus on the novelty of the research performed.

In accordance with the authors guidelines from the Agronomía Mesoamericana, the authors of the scientific works have the following rights over their published work: they can present them in public, prepare derivative works, reproduce and distribute them. Users of the journal can mention the information contained in the published material (as long as they cite them correctly, otherwise they recur in plagiarism) with teaching and research purposes. 

Prelimunary evaluation process

All works submitted for publication in Agronomía Mesoamericana can only be submitted through the electronic journal. Authors must subscribe at the following address: http://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/agromeso/user/register. Additionally, the works must be original, unpublished, and cannot be fully or partially proposed to another journal.

Agronomía Mesoamericana does not charge any fees for submission, editing, or publication.

New works submitted for the editing process in Agronomía Mesoamericana will undergo a preliminary review in accordance with the journal's objectives and scope to determine their relevance. This review will be conducted by the editors and editorial assistants within a maximum period of twenty-two days. If it is determined that the work complies with the author's guidelines, the document will be sent for peer review after the preliminary review. If it is determined that the work does not meet the formatting and relevance requirements, the document will be rejected outright. In the case of rejection due to formatting, the author may resubmit the document as a new submission, which must include all the changes that demonstrate compliance with the requested guidelines.

Once the editors deem the document compliant with the author's guidelines, it will be immediately sent for peer review.

The date of reception of the document will be determined once it is deemed to have met all the formatting requirements and is ready to be submitted for peer review.

Peer Review Process

The responsible individuals for reviewing each work will be at least two external experts or referees with expertise in the subject matter. They are selected by the editors based on their academic background and publications in scientific journals.

The referees analyze the works to determine the validity of the proposed objectives, the methodology employed, the obtained results, as well as their impact or contribution to science. They will be given one month to provide the review results. If this process is delayed, other specialists will be approached, and the author will be informed whether they agree to wait longer or withdraw their work from the editing process. In case of dissenting opinions among the specialists, another referee will be consulted to determine the relevance of the publication.

Once the evaluations from the specialist reviewers are obtained, the criteria will be compiled and sent to the author, whether the work is accepted to continue with the editing process or rejected. This procedure will be completed within a maximum period of fifteen days.

The authors will have a period of ten days to clarify or make the suggested changes by the specialist reviewers. Once the editors consider that the document has met the specialist reviewers' criteria, the approval process for publication will proceed.

Once the work is approved by the Editorial Board, the editors conduct the final review and editing of the document, and the final version is sent to the authors for their review and approval within a maximum period of five business days.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to classify the works as articles or technical notes based on their impact and content, which will be determined based on the comments made by the specialists who reviewed the document.

The evaluation model used in Agronomía Mesoamericana is double-blind.

Plagiarism detection policy

Agronomía Mesoamericana journal utilizes the Turnitin® system for plagiarism detection. If a work is found to have complete or partial reproduction of other research, including the authors' own work, the proper process will be followed. The authors will be given the opportunity to provide evidence of originality or make necessary corrections to the work. Subsequently, the Editorial Committee will evaluate the evidence and corrections and make a decision to reject or continue the editing process of the work.

All documents, without exception, submitted for editing in Agronomía Mesoamericana will undergo a plagiarism detection process.

Duration of the evaluation process

The evaluation process of works submitted for editing in Agronomía Mesoamericana, from the reception of the document to its acceptance, is estimated to take two months. However, this timeframe may be extended in cases where the document needs to undergo a second round of evaluation or if the authors do not meet the specified deadlines.

Publication Frequency

 The journal is a continuous publication with an annual open issue that begins in January and closes in December.  Each number is published on the first day of the period it comprises.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle to make research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Working hours

Working hours are:

1. From Monday to Friday from 7 am to 3 pm with Meliza Villegas.

Phone number:(506) 2511-7765

email: meliza.villegas@gmail.com

2. Also from Monday to thrusday from 7 am to 3 pm with Nancy León Ulate.

Phone number: (506) 2511-7770

email: pccmca@gmail.com

Sponsors

Research Vicerectory, proyect Nº 736-92-721

  • Universidad de Costa Rica

Journal History

Agronomía Mesoamericana journal was born on the XXXV Meeting of the Central American Strengthening of Crops and Animals Cooperative Program (PCCMCA, in Spanish), held in Honduras in 1989. Its purpose is to disseminate the research results that are presented in these annual meetings. The first volume was published and distributed in 1990, during the XXXVI Meeting of PCCMCA in El Salvador. Nowadays its objective is to disseminate scientific information through the publication of articles, short communications, technical notes and literature reviews, related with food and agriculture sciences from anywhere in the world, emphasized in tropical and subtropical zones.