Editorial report 2004

2004 was another good year for the New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science (NZJCHS). The journal continued to receive high numbers of submissions and all issues were published on schedule.

Papers submitted in 2004

In 2004, the journal received 106 submissions, of which 18% were from New Zealand researchers of the New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food Research Limited, The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd, Massey University, and the University of Waikato. The rest of the papers were submitted by authors from Argentina, Australia, China, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey. Over half of the papers (60%) submitted were in crop science, with the remainder in horticultural science. The main horizontal divisions by discipline were: production (25% cf. 45%, 2003); physiology (24% cf. 9%); breeding and genetics (16% cf. 12%); pathology (12% cf. 16%); insect pests (8%, same as in 2003); postharvest (8% cf. 4%); economics (5%); and processing (2%). Papers were refereed by 195 referees from: New Zealand (27%); United States (25%); Australia (13%); and Canada (7%). Argentina, Austria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, and United Kingdom made up the remaining 28%. The rejection rate for papers submitted in 2004 is currently 34%. Most papers were rejected because the work reported did not meet our standards for publication (i.e., the work reported was not new, had major deficiencies, or was of poor quality).

Papers published in 2004

Volume 32 comprises 45 scientific papers (cf. 42, 2003), 1 cultivar release, and 7 book reviews printed over 430 pages (cf. 400 p., 2003) in 4 issues. In 2004 the average time from submission to acceptance was 26 weeks and the average time from acceptance to publication was 22 weeks. The total publication time of 48 weeks is longer than it took in 2003 (41 weeks). I will be spending less time on non-NZJCHS duties from mid 2005 and expect these publication times to improve.

Many thanks to all contributors to the journal in 2004—authors, referees, and readers.

Sandra Stanislawek
Scientific editor
Editor, New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science
March 2005
Endorsed by the Editorial Advisory Board