Author Guidelines

Instructions for preparing manuscripts and posters

The New Zealand Plant Protection Society publishes original research papers on all aspects of biology, ecology and control of weeds, vertebrate and invertebrate pests, and pathogens and beneficial micro-organisms in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and natural ecosystems. Papers should report complete work or substantial interim results. Short reviews may be published as long as these are critical in nature and add significantly to plant protection science.

It is a requirement that a summary or a selected aspect of every paper and poster abstract published in the journal is presented orally at the Society’s Conference. At least one of the contributing authors must be a current member of the New Zealand Plant Protection Society.

Submission deadlines must be strictly adhered to. 

Preparation of manuscripts

Please download the manuscript template and use this to prepare your manuscript. Instructions regarding each section are included in the template. Do not change the font style or size. Submit all manuscripts in single spacing without line numbers.

Submission and review of manuscripts

All manuscripts must be read by all the co-authors and approved by the corresponding author’s organisation before submission to the editor.

A structured abstract of up to 180 words with the subheadings Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions must be submitted on the website (journal.nzpps.org) by 15 February (download  the abstract submission guide here). Please download the manuscript abstract template and use this to prepare your abstract. Only submit an abstract if you are intending to submit a full manuscript. The full manuscript can also be submitted at the same time as the abstract. Completed manuscripts must be submitted on the website by 15 April. Download the manuscript submission guide here. If data collection, analysis or internal reviewing are still being undertaken on this date then you will need to submit your paper the following year. The manuscript with be reviewed electronically by at least one referee, a section editor and the editor, and will be returned to you by the editor. You must use that version to make any alterations or corrections suggested and then email the revised version to the editor within 5 working days. 

Ensure that the final version has been carefully checked, as no alterations to the text will be accepted on the proofs. Proofs will be emailed as electronic files for checking by the corresponding author. Subsequent to publication of the journal, alterations to the .pdf files that are loaded on the website can be made. Error due to author oversight will cost $100 plus GST per paper.

Rejection of papers

Your paper will be rejected if:

• It falls outside the scope of New Zealand Plant Protection.
• There are insufficient data to support any useful conclusions.
• Results have been incorrectly interpreted.
• Data have not been statistically analysed (unless there is a very good reason for not doing so).
• Information in the paper is either not original or not new, although review papers will be considered.
• There is insufficient information to warrant publication as a full paper.

Your paper may be rejected if, in the opinion of the section editor and the editor, the paper needs major revision in any of the following areas:

• Information. Make sure your information is accurate. Ensure that each section of the paper gives adequate information and that the information is in the appropriate place, i.e. do not put methods in the results or vice versa.
• Readability. Use clear, concise, grammatically correct language. Arrange information in a logical order. Be accurate in what you say. Don’t pad the paper out with unnecessary information or repetition, e.g. in the Results section describe only the main differences apparent in data in tables or figures and do not describe every minor difference.
• Presentation of results. Present data in the appropriate form as tables or figures. In some cases, it is sufficient to describe data in the text. Remember it is not always necessary to present all the data you have collected.
• Statistical analysis. Make sure your analyses are appropriate, that you outline in the methods the type of analyses used and that statistical differences are apparent in the results. Give an SED, an LSD or use lettering to indicate significant differences, along with probability levels.
• Formatting. Follow the formatting information exactly, particularly the layout of headings, tables, figures and references.

Page charges

There is no charge for four printed pages (approximately 2000 words, including equivalent space for tables and figures). Corresponding authors will be charged $100 plus GST for every additional printed page.

Submission of poster abstracts

Poster abstracts must be uploaded to the NZPP website by 15 May. The written abstract should be prepared using the poster abstract template available from the website. Once submitted, the editor may suggest changes to the text and a response to these suggestions must be received within 5 days.

Preparation of posters

Please consider the following points when preparing your poster.

• Posters should be prepared in A0 size (841 mm × 1189 mm).
• Ensure a gap of at least 30 mm between photographs, tables and word summaries.
• In general, the minimum size for photographs is 150 mm x 100 mm unless compilations of photographs are used where a smaller size may be appropriate.
• Print size for headings should be at least 20 mm for upper case and 15 mm for lower case.
• Written information should be double spaced and in bold type at least 4 mm high. Use lowercase as much as possible.
• The word limit for scripts is 500 words.
• Scripts should only include the key points of methods, results and discussion/conclusions.
• Use bullet-point form wherever possible.
• Explain the content of photographs briefly.
• Tables should be summarised to key points. An average of 10-15 numbers/entries per table is considered suitable.
• Authors are encouraged to include a 75 mm x 75 mm personal photograph (head only) in the upper right-hand corner.

Presentation of posters at the conference

Poster boards are provided and posters must be set up no later than 10.30 am on the first day of the conference. Velcro tape for attachment of your poster will also be provided. Authors must be available for discussion and queries during the poster session.