I. Scope of the Journal

The Journal "The Bulletin of Kharkiv National Agrarian University. Series Biology" publishes articles on topical issues of experimental plant biology and related areas, namely physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and plant breeding, plant anatomy and cell biology, plant biotechnology and ecology, plant interaction with other organisms, etc.

For publication are accepted:

• finished original works, not been previously published anywhere (articles up to 1 print sheet – 24 pages of text, 30 lines per page);
• theoretical and problem review articles up to 2 print sheets – 48 pages of text, including a references list;
• descriptions of original methods and devices;
• materials and reports on events of scientific life (sections “Chronicle”, “History of Science”, “People of Science”), etc.;
• book reviews.

Papers are printed in Ukrainian or English.

ІІ. Requirements to article text presentation

The text of experimental papers should consist of sections: "Introduction", "Methods", "Results", "Discussion" (the joint section “Results and Discussion” is possible), “List of References”.

Summary in size up to 15-20 lines is placed under the headlines in an original language.

Literature references in the text are given in parentheses with surname of author (authors) and year of publication. If authors more than two, references are made out as follows: (Dogadina et al., 2008).

References list is made alphabetically. Design example:

Koster K.L., Lynch D.V. 1992. Solute accumulation and compartmentation during the cold acclimation of puma rye. Plant Physiol. 98 : 108-113.

Hossain M.A., Hoque M.A., Burritt D.J., Fujita M. 2014. Proline protects plants against abiotic oxidative stress: biochemical and molecular mechanisms. In: Oxidative Damage to Plants Antioxidant Networks and Signaling. Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier : 477-521.

Tables are printed on separate pages with own title each.

Figures are drawn as black-and-white on a separate pages. Under the figures their numbers and caption with the full explanation of figure designations and content are printed.

Completely surnames and first names of all authors, phones, faxes, e-mail and full post addresses are indicated on the separate page.

ІІІ. Preparation of electronic version of manuscript

The text of the paper should be executed in *.doc ore *.docx format with use of font Times New Roman 14 pt., one-and-a-half interval, body text alignment on width, without use of special type of formatting and without word divisions.

Graphic figures must be inserted in text file and duplicated as file in Excel (*.xls) format. Font of figures Arial 10 pt., bold. Frameworks of diagram area, plotting area and legend are invisible. All lines are of average thickness. The basic points of axes are directed inward. Diagrams are accompanied with initial data by which they are plotted. Photos are inserted in text file and are duplicated in the formats *.tif, *.gif, *.jpg.

IV. Representation of materials to editorial office

To the Editorial Office the text of the electronic version is sent by e-mail.

V. Editorial preparation

The papers which are received by Editorial Office are registered and directed to be reviewed to two experts in the given concrete field. If there are censorious remarks the paper is returned to the authors for completion. Authors should return the corrected variant and the answer to all remarks of the reviewer.

Address of Editorial Office: 62483, Ukraine, Kharkiv, p/o Dokuchaevske-2, Dokuchaev KhNAU, office 4-417. Tel. (0572) 99-73-52. E-mail: plant_biology@ukr.net

Publishing ethics

Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

The Editorial Board of “The Bulletin of Kharkiv National Agrarian University. Series Biology” in its work adheres to the international ethical rules of scientific publications and is guided by the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly, Publishing Ethics Resource Kit of the Elsevier publishing house, and also draws on the valuable experience of reputable international journals and publishers. Adherence to the regulations on publication ethics by all of involved in publication process provides protection of authors’ intellectual property right, improving the quality of publication and excludes the possibility of illegal use of author’s materials. This Regulation is consistent with the policy of the journal and is one of the main components of the review and publication of the Journal.

• Publication decision should be made on the basis of validation of the submitted data and the importance of the publication for researchers and readers. Editor-in-Chief, academic editors, members of the Editorial Board should not have a conflict of interest in relation to the articles they decide on. At that they are guided by the Journal’s policy and such legal requirements as the prevention of libel, plagiarism and copyright infringement.
• Objectivity. The Editorial Board should evaluate submitted manuscript by its scientific content solely, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views of the authors of the manuscript.
• Confidentiality. The Editor-in-Chief, Editorial staff, members of the Editorial Board should not disclose information about the submitted manuscript to anyone else except the author(s) and potential and intended reviewers.
• Disclosure and Conflict of interests. Unpublished data from submitted manuscripts must not be used by the Editorial office and the Editorial Board members for personal advantage or be transferred to third parties (without written consent of the authors).
• The Editorial Board should not allow to publish the materials if there is every reason to believe that it is plagiarism. Accepted papers are published under Open Access route, authors’ copyrights are reserved.
• Dealing with ethical complaints. The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial office should not remain the claim relating to submitted or published manuscripts unanswered. If there is a disagreement, they will make all reasonable efforts to restore the violated rights and if errors are detected, to publish correction or refutation.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Independent peer review is the main way to objectively assess the scientific quality of potential publications and improve it by formulating recommendations for finalizing articles.

• The submitted manuscript must be treated as a confidential document by a reviewer. It must not be shown or discussed with other persons except those authorized by the editor. At the same time, unpublished information provided in the article sent for review should not be used in any work of a reviewer without the written permission of the author. Confidential information or ideas appearing during the review should be kept confidential and not used for personal gain.
• In order to avoid plagiarism or incorrect use of published materials, a reviewer should pay attention of the Editor-in-Chief to the similarity or partial coincidence of the article under review with any other previously published one.
• Reviewer must follow the terms of review, determined by the Editorial office. If it is impossible to prepare a review within a certain time frame, a reviewer must immediately inform the Editorial board of this, he must do the same in case of refusal to review the manuscript due to a conflict of interest with the authors or inconsistency of the subject matter of the expert’s competence.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors should be aware that they are personally responsible for the text of the manuscript, the accuracy of the results of the research, as well as an objective discussion of its significance.

• The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references to permit other researchers to replicate the work.
• Authors should ensure that the results of the study, as set out in the manuscript, are an original work of their own. The use of fragments of foreign factual data and/or borrowing the statements of other authors must necessarily be noted by reference or indicated in the text of the article. Excessive borrowings, as well as plagiarism in any form or the appropriation of rights to the results of other people’s research are unethical and unacceptable actions. Articles that are a compilation of materials previously published by other authors without their creative processing and their own author’s comprehension are not accepted for publication by the Editorial office.
• Authors must send to the Editorial Board original manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not pending in other journal. Non-observance of this principle is regarded as a gross violation of the publications ethics and gives grounds for rejecting an article at any stage of the editorial process. If the elements of the manuscript were previously published in another article, authors are obliged to refer to the earlier work and indicate what is the fundamental difference between the new work and the previous one.
• Authors should acknowledge the contributions of all individuals who in one way or another influenced the course of research or the nature of the submitted scientific work. In particular, the article should contain bibliographic references to publications that were relevant to the study. Information obtained privately (through conversation, correspondence and discussion with third parties or during review of articles or examination of projects) should not be used without obtaining open written permission from their source.
• Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a real contribution to the concept, planning, execution of work, or interpretation of research results. The author must also ensure that all co-authors are familiar with the final version of the article, approved it and agree with its presentation in the publication. All authors referred to in the article are publicly responsible for the content of the article.
• In the event of discover significant errors or inaccuracies in the article at the stage of consideration or after its publication, the authors should immediately inform the journal’s editors and make a joint decision on admitting the error and/or correcting it as soon as possible.
• Authors should indicate in their manuscripts the sources of the work funding, inform the Editorial Board about possible conflicts of interest.

Peer review process

The manuscript of the article must be anonymously reviewed by two leading specialists in the corresponding field, one of whom may be a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal.

• Authors may suggest candidatures of independent reviewers for their work, the Editorial Board regards such wishes with understanding, though reserves the right to assign reviewers capable for the most qualified analysis of the work.
• Reviewers are aware that submitted manuscripts are the authors’ private property and are not the subject to unauthorized disclosure.
• A reviewer’s decision is not final. Authors have a right to appeal against a reviewer’s decision. In this case the paper will be sent to the independent referee or to adjudicating member of the Editorial Board for assessment. A final decision on the appeal remains with the Editorial Board.
• If reviewers reject the article, the Editorial office sends the author a written notice.
• The article sent to the author for revision should be returned in corrected form within two weeks. By revised version of the article answers to all comments and explanations of changes made in the manuscript must be attached.
• A revised version of the article, agreed with the reviewers, is considered final and must be signed by the reviewers and the Scientific Editor in print, after which the replacement of text, figures or tables become unacceptable.