WEED SCIENCE

Weed Science Manuscript Template

Weed Science Checklist for New Submissions

Weed Science Checklist for Revisions

WSSA Table Formatting

Important notice

We have become aware of websites such as BrightLink Research Index and University Press Journals are claiming to offer publication in certain Cambridge University Press journals. We do not work with such companies.

Submissions to Cambridge University Press journals can only be made via the online peer review systems linked to from this Cambridge Core website, or else directly to the editorial offices of those journals that do not operate online peer review systems. All submissions should be made directly through the Weed Science submission site.

For more information on predatory publishing, please visit the Think Check Submit website.

Journal Scope

Weed Science is an online journal publishing fundamental research and scholarship as peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of weed science, with a focus on understanding "why" phenomena occur. Topics include the biology and ecology of weeds in agricultural, forestry, aquatic, turf, recreational, rights-of-ways, and other settings; genetics of weeds and herbicide resistance; chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, and molecular action of herbicides and plant growth regulators used to manage undesirable vegetation; ecology of cropping and non-cropping systems as it relates to weed management; biological and ecological aspects of weed control tools including biological agents, herbicide resistant crops, etc.; and effects of weed management on soil, air, and water.

Types of Articles

Manuscripts must contain original material constituting logical units of subject matter and must contribute to the advancement of knowledge. Acceptance is made with the understanding that the substance of the manuscript has not been and will not be published elsewhere other than as an abstract, a thesis or dissertation, or as a preliminary report to growers or cooperators. Experimental results should be confirmed by appropriate replication in time or space. Progress reports, non-replicated experiments, and simple observational information are not acceptable. Visual estimates of percentage weed control and of crop injury are acceptable when supported by objective measurements of response.

a. *Research Article. Original articles reporting research in the areas of physiology, chemistry, and biochemistry; weed biology and ecology; weed management; soil, air, and water; and other topics related to weed science are encouraged. See a recent journal issue for examples.

b. *Review. Weed Science welcomes review articles that synthesize current information and appeal to a broad audience. Authors should contact the editor to discuss the proposed review topic. Once received by the journal Editor, the article will be reviewed and edited as a regular submission.

c. *Symposium Papers. Proceedings of WSSA and other symposia may be published in Weed Science, normally within one year of the symposium. Symposium organizers should contact the Editor within one month after the symposium to discuss a timeframe for manuscript submission and the expected number of papers. Symposium authors must submit manuscripts promptly for review to allow publication by a predetermined date. Unless an exception has been approved by the WSSA Board of Directors, normal page charges apply to symposium papers and these publication costs should be included in the symposium budget approved by WSSA. An Associate Editor will be assigned to work with the authors on paper submittal.

d. *Rapid Communication. Publication of an article containing original research may under exceptional circumstances be expedited.  Authors must explain in the cover letter why publication as a Rapid Communication is justified. Acceptance of a manuscript to be processed as a Rapid Communication is the decision of the Editor.

e. My View. Short essays not exceeding 2,000 words that address current issues of general interest in weed science are occasionally published.  My View articles are not peer-reviewed, and acceptance is entirely at the discretion of the Editor.

f. *Special Issue Article.  Themed special issues of Weed Science are occasionally published.  Special issue articles are commissioned by the Editor and are reviewed and edited in the same way as regular submissions.

Publication Charges

Authors are asked to pay a portion of publication costs. These costs for Weed Science are currently $65 per final composed page plus an additional processing charge of $55 per manuscript if none of the authors are WSSA members. Exceptions can be made by the Editor but must be requested when the manuscript is first submitted. There is no additional charge for publishing color figures or images included in the manuscript.

Author Publication Agreement

The policy of Weed Science is that authors (or in some cases their employers) retain copyright and grant the WSSA a licence to publish their work. In the case of gold open access articles this is a non-exclusive licence. Authors must complete and return an author publishing agreement form as soon as their article has been accepted for publication; the journal is unable to publish the article without this. Please download the appropriate publishing agreement here.

For open access articles, the form also sets out the Creative Commons licence under which the article is made available to end users: a fundamental principle of open access is that content should not simply be accessible but should also be freely re-usable. Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY) by default. This means that the article is freely available to read, copy and redistribute, and can also be adapted (users can “remix, transform, and build upon” the work) for any commercial or non-commercial purpose, as long as proper attribution is given. Authors can, in the publishing agreement form, choose a different kind of Creative Commons license (including those prohibiting non-commercial and derivative use) if they prefer.

Open Access

Charges to make articles open access are $2,000 for authors who are members of the Weed Science Society of America and $2,500 for non-members. Open Access Weed Science journal articles are made freely available in perpetuity on Cambridge Core (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/weed-science) and on BioOne (www.bioone.org). Authors who opt for open access do not pay regular page charges.