Our mission, subject coverage, article types, and indexing information — everything you need to know before submitting your work to The Practical Agronomy.
The Practical Agronomy is a peer-reviewed, gold open-access journal dedicated to publishing well-conducted research in agronomy, crop science, and agricultural systems. Founded in 2026, the journal serves as an international platform for original research that advances sustainable and productive agriculture worldwide.
We are committed to methodological rigour, ethical integrity, and rapid dissemination of findings that carry genuine potential to improve agricultural practice and food security. Every submission is evaluated solely on scientific merit, independent of the authors' institutional affiliation, geographic location, or funding source.
"We believe that transformative agricultural research should be freely accessible to every researcher, extension specialist, farmer, and policymaker on the planet — regardless of institutional affiliation or geographic location."
The Practical Agronomy actively encourages contributions from researchers worldwide, including those based in low- and middle-income countries. APC waivers are available for eligible authors; see our Article Processing Charges page for details.
The journal covers the full breadth of agronomy and crop science, with particular emphasis on research relevant to both smallholder and large-scale agricultural systems. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
Studies with a clear applied focus or direct relevance to agricultural practice are especially encouraged. Purely fundamental plant science without agronomic context falls outside the journal's primary scope.
The journal accepts a range of article formats to accommodate different research outputs. Authors should select the most appropriate type before submission. Full word limits and structural requirements are detailed in the Author Guidelines.
| Article Type | Max Words | Max References | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Research | 5,000 | 60 | Structured, 250 w |
| Review Article | 8,000 | 100 | Structured, 300 w |
| Short Communication | 2,500 | 30 | Unstructured, 150 w |
| Field Study Report | 3,000 | 40 | Structured, 200 w |
| Technical Note | 2,000 | 25 | Unstructured, 150 w |
| Letter to the Editor | 800 | 10 | None |
Empirical studies must comply with relevant reporting guidelines and standards applicable to their field. Authors are encouraged to deposit underlying data in appropriate public repositories at the time of submission.
All articles are published under the CC BY 4.0 licence, enabling unrestricted reuse with appropriate attribution. The journal operates a Gold Open Access model; no subscription or access fee is ever charged to readers or institutions.
Founding Year Waiver: In recognition of the journal's launch year, article processing charges are fully waived for all manuscripts accepted before 1 January 2027. Authors incur no publication costs for submissions accepted during this founding period. All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo double-blind peer review.
Following the waiver period, standard APC rates will be announced in advance of implementation, with continued discount and waiver provisions for authors from low- and middle-income countries.