Manuscripts must be written in proper English (see the section on editorial policy). The abstract of full-length articles will be printed in Spanish as well as in English.

The corresponding author is fully responsible for all aspects of the manuscript, including its overall integrity, proper submission, revisions and related costs.

Scope:

The AJPR publishes reports of basic and applied research on potato (Solanum spp.). There are three general categories of publication: (1) full-length articles describing original scientific research in the form of a regular publication; (2) short communications concisely describing poignant and timely research results in four or fewer journal pages; (3) review papers, book reviews and symposium proceedings.

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Review Process:

Professional peer review is administered and evaluated by the senior editor assigned to the manuscript by the editor-in-chief. Authors may provide a list of suggested reviewers.

Page Charges

Journal Cover Photograph:

AJPR prints a cover photo on each bi-monthly issue. Authors are invited to submit a visual related to their manuscript as a candidate for the journal cover.

Reprints:

Reprints may be purchased by authors at the time of publication. Authors may purchase paper reprints, PDF reprints, or both. Instruction for ordering reprints as well as their cost will be sent with each set of page proofs.

Advertisements:

Suitable paid advertisements for products of interest to potato researchers and related to the potato industry or profession may be published. Contact Springer for information:

Advertising
Springer
233 Spring St.
New York, NY 10013 USA
TEL: (212) 620-8405
FAX: (212) 647-1898
E-MAIL: advertising@springer.com

Submission of Manuscripts

To expedite reviews and publication of your manuscript please follow these steps:

1. A wide range of submission file formats is supported, including: Word, WordPerfect, RTF, TXT, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, EPS, LaTeX2E, TeX, Postscript, PICT, Excel, Tar, Zip and PowerPoint. PDF is not an acceptable file format.
2. Prepare your manuscript with single line spacing; use a normal, plain font (e.g. 10-point Times Roman) for text; and use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages. Do not use the field functions. Use tab stops or other commands for indents – not the space bar. Use the equation editor or MathType for equations. Note: If you use Word 2007, do not create equations with the default equation editor, but use MathType instead. Save your file in two formats: doc and rtf. Do not submit docx files.
3. We highly recommend that you conduct your own thorough pre-review with the help of colleagues familiar with the subject who will check the scientific content, presentation and conclusions, and skilled proofreaders who will catch typos and non-compliance with AJPR style.

Authors should submit their manuscripts online. Electronic submission substantially reduces the editorial processing and reviewing times and shortens overall publication times. Please connect directly to the site and upload all of your manuscript files following the instructions given on the screen. http://ajpr.edmgr.com

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CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Authors must indicate whether or not they have a financial relationship with the organization that sponsored the research. They should also state that they have full control of all primary data and that they agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.

Therefore the manuscript must be accompanied by the “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form”. This form can be obtained from: http://www.springer.com/

ETHICAL STANDARDS

Please include at the end of the acknowledgements a declaration that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities - tacitly or explicitly - at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher or the Association will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation.

PERMISSIONS

Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

More specific details about AJPR requirements follow in the writing style section.

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WRITING STYLE AND FORMAT OF MANUSCRIPTS

In writing for the AJPR, authors are advised to refer to recent issues’ papers as models. Specific instructions follow.

Organization of Regular Full-Length Manuscripts:

Regular full-length papers should include the following elements in the order that they are described:

Title Page: Exercise care in composing a brief but descriptive title. On the title page, include the title(s), full name(s) (including first and middle initials), and the present address(es) of the author(s). Place an asterisk after the name of the corresponding author, and then a footnote "*Corresponding author."

The title page should include:

• The name(s) of the author(s)
• A concise and informative title
• The affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s)

The e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author

Provide the corresponding author’s telephone number, fax number, and email address with the footnote. Other footnotes to be listed are:

• additional key words (up to six words not found in the title),
• disclaimers,
• suggested running head (not to exceed 25 characters and spaces), and
• a footnote may also be included for “Accepted for publication __________.”

Footnotes on the title page are not given reference symbols. Footnotes to the text are numbered consecutively; those to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data).

Abstract.  Please provide an abstract of 100 to 150 words. Briefly, state the problem that the research, summarize the nature of the research approach, provide an overview of the results and indicate the significance and/or impact of the results. Avoid abbreviations, diagrams, and references in the abstract. Because the abstract will be published by many abstracting services, it must be complete and understandable without references to the text of your paper.

Introduction. The introduction should supply enough background information to allow the reader to understand and evaluate the results and significance of the present study without referring to previous publications or papers on the topic. Consequently, the introduction should define the nature of the problem, provide an understanding of the relevant literature, describe the author’s hypothesis and rationale for the present study, and state the purpose of the research. Present only the most recent and relevant references rather than an exhaustive review of the topic.

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Materials and Methods. Include information on the identity of materials and methods that may affect the results. Clearly indicate the number of times that each experiment was repeated and the number of sample replicates used within each experimental repeat. The reader should be able to understand the methods used without reference to previous publications. New methods should be described in detail and sources of unusual chemicals, equipment, microbial and virus strains, insects involved, etc. should be identified. When large numbers of microbial strains or cultivars are used, a table identifying the sources and/or the properties of each should be included. For pesticide names, first use should include the chemical and common name and the formulation when the active ingredient is not used in a pure form. Subsequent references to pesticides need only to use the common name.

Results. Include only results of the experiments. Present representative rather than repetitive data. Reserve extensive interpretation of the results for the Discussion section. Present the results as concisely as possible in the text, table(s) and figure(s). Number the tables and figures in the order in which they are cited in the text, and be sure that all figures and tables included in the paper are cited. However, do not reiterate in the text data that is presented in figures.

Discussion. This section should interpret the results. The significance and impact of the results should be clearly described for the reader in context of other published related work. Evidence for each conclusion should be summarized. In a few papers, it may be more appropriate to combine the Results and Discussion sections.

Subheadings. Authors are encouraged to arrange the above sections into logical subsections headed with appropriate titles. Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

Acknowledgments. In this section you may identify and thank people or organizations/grant program who contributed to the research.

References. The list of References should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text.

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Cite references in the text by name and year in parentheses. Some examples:

• Negotiation research spans many disciplines (Thompson 1990).
• This result was later contradicted (Becker and Seligman 1996).
• This effect has been widely studied (Abbott 1991; Barakat et al. 1995; Kelso and Smith 1998; Medvec et al. 1993).

Citations should be deemed retrievable by the readership now and in the future. Manuscripts that are in press may be used as citations, but the author must be able to provide proof of acceptance if requested by the journal staff. Arrange the citations in alphabetical order by first author followed in chronological order by the other authors in the same order. Use the following formats:

• Journal article

Alber, John, Daniel C. O’Connell, and Sabine Kowal. 2002. Personal perspective in TV interviews. Pragmatics 12: 257–271.

• Article by DOI

Suleiman, Camelia, Daniel C. O’Connell, and Sabine Kowal. 2002. ‘If you and I, if we, in this later day, lose that sacred fire...’: Perspective in political interviews. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. doi: 10.1023/A:1015592129296.

• Book

Cameron, Deborah. 1985. Feminism and linguistic theory. New York: St. Martin's Press.

• Book chapter

Cameron, Deborah. 1997. Theoretical debates in feminist linguistics: Questions of sex and gender. In Gender and discourse, ed. Ruth Wodak, 99-119. London: Sage Publications.

• Online document

Frisch, Mathias. 2007. Does a low-entropy constraint prevent us from influencing the past? PhilSci archive. http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00003390. Accessed 26 June 2007.

Organization and Criteria for Short Communications Manuscripts

Submit these manuscripts in the same way as a full-length manuscript. Short Communications receive the same peer review and are subject to the same time frame for publication as full-length papers. This type of publication is intended to highlight specific research findings and cannot be used to report preliminary and/or incomplete results. The maximum length is four (4) journal pages.

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Content & Organization for Variety Release Manuscripts
[Rev 2/5/08]

All new potato varieties originating in the Americas should be described in the AJPR to provide a consistent source of reference. The format of variety release manuscripts is similar to that for full-length manuscripts including the requirement for peer review prior to acceptance for publication. However, variety releases also have their own unique organization which should include the following elements:

Title Page. Follow the instructions for a full-length manuscript. The title should include the variety name plus descriptive information about the variety.

Abstract. Follow the instructions for a full-length manuscript. Include a summary of essential characteristics of the variety. Include brief statements summarizing how the variety is distinct from existing potato varieties.

Introduction. Provide a history of the development of the proposed variety, including but not limited to:

• Originating program/institution and cooperating agencies contributing to the release.
• Clonal designation used during evaluation.
• The meaning or origin of the variety name or trademarked name.
• A clear statement of the intended use and importance of the new variety relative to industry standard varieties.
• The meaning or origin of the variety name or trademarked name.
• A clear statement of the intended use and importance of the new variety relative to industry standard varieties.
• Pedigree. Parentage should be given with female parent always listed first (left to right in text and top to bottom in the pedigree figure). The pedigree should be given through four generations, although it is not necessary to include the parentage of named and described varieties that appear in the pedigree, as long as release documents for such varieties are cited. Authors may include reasons for the choice of parents, and also may discuss ancestral contributions to characteristics unique to the variety.

Varietal Description. The detailed description of the variety should be written using comparisons to existing varieties most similar to the new variety or most likely to be replaced by the new variety. The authors may take into consideration the need for plant varietal protection (PVP) or plant breeders rights (PBR) and should also consider the need of certification agencies to identify the variety in field or storage. Color pictures of tuber, vine, leaf, flower, and light sprout are required components of the manuscript.

Special attention should be given to the description of those traits which best identify the variety and to those performance qualities most pertinent to the anticipated use of the variety. All information should be as precise and scientifically accurate as the characteristic permits with subjective descriptors such as “fairly” or “somewhat better” being avoided.

Complex data sets from multiple-site variety trials over years make standard statistical analyses difficult to conduct and report for new variety releases. Therefore, means of data for yield, specific gravity and other descriptors over years and locations are acceptable to report. However, statistical analyses are required for any unique or superior characteristics highlighted in the release document as distinguishing the new variety from previously released varieties. Results should show statistically significant differences between the new variety in comparisons with standard varieties currently used by industry in order to substantiate claims of superiority and/or distinctness.

This description will be a permanent record of the variety. Varietal descriptions are used in potato disciplines ranging from basic to applied research, and complete varietal descriptions will aid in decisions to adopt this technology for commercialization or research purposes. Complete descriptions should be given for the following:

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Botanical Descriptors.

• Plant vine & foliage characteristics--i.e., plant type, height, growth habit, and maturity; stem, leaf and leaflet characteristics; characteristics of the inflorescence and fertility.
• Tuber characteristics--i.e., tuber skin and flesh color(s), characteristics of tuber shape, size and number per plant; eye distribution, and depth or prominence; tuber dormancy relative to most closely associated industry standard variety; light sprout characteristics.

Agronomic Descriptors

• Agronomic performance--i.e., Total and U.S. No. 1 yield (or percent U.S. No. 1 yield), specific gravity, and tuber size distribution relative to industry standard over years and locations with data on external and internal tuber defects such as hollow heart/brown center, second growth, shatter and blackspot bruise.
• Tuber Qualities--Culinary, processing, and storage attributes
• Reaction of plant & tuber to diseases and pests--i.e., resistances /susceptibilities. Ratings of standard varieties for comparison need to be included when describing disease/pest response of the new variety, thereby providing the reader with a reference. Methods used in screening and assigning disease/pest response need to be included either as a citation or succinctly in the text of the manuscript for reference by the reader. Particular attention should be given to those diseases for which atypical or symptomless expressions are encountered, especially ring rot and Potato virus Y.

Agronomic Production & Storage Management Practices--i.e., recommended production and storage practices, and plant or tuber sensitivities to agricultural chemicals.

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Tuber Chemistries--e.g., Concentrations and descriptions where applicable of glycoalkaloids, vitamins, proteins, amino acids, starch, sugar, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.

Variety Identification: Authors may also include a protein profile or other fingerprinting technique that can be used for variety identification. The protocol used need to be cited or described in the manuscript to allow for its reproduction. Profiles for standard varieties most similar to the newly released variety should also be included.

Seed Availability--Contact information.

Plant Variety Protection--To be applied for?

Acknowledgments--Please refer to instructions for a full-length manuscript.

Literature Cited. Please follow the instructions for a full-length manuscript. Cite all pertinent literature, including release documents of other varieties listed in the manuscript as per instructions for a full-length manuscript. An aspect of variety releases that differs from a full-length manuscript is the use of reports detailing agronomic and processing performance and disease and pest response. Useful data concerning the new variety is detailed in such reports; however, such reports are generally not submitted for formal publication and therefore would be discounted as an acceptable reference under the guidelines given in the full-length manuscript. However, due to their contribution of data useful in determining the worth of a breeding clone for release as a variety, reports of this nature can be cited in the variety release document. Citations may be a URL (if posted on the internet) with the corresponding date at which authors were able to access data at that website, i.e., verified January 11, 2008. In addition to the URL, the contact person with telephone and e-mail information should also be listed for reference if a hard copy of the report is desired, or if internet access to reports changes with time.

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SYNTAX, OTHER CONVENTIONS AND SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Scientific and Taxonomic Names

Taxonomic names should be used for all references to microorganisms, plant species and insects the first time it is used in the text, and thereafter abbreviated. The first use of a cultivar name should be preceded by the abbreviation cv or the by the word cultivar. Alternatively, use single quotes around cultivar names the first time the names are introduced in the abstract and text.

Chemical Nomenclature

Follow Chemical Abstracts and its indexes for chemical names. The chemical name of pesticides should be used.

Standard Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter. Standard chemical symbols may be used in the text where desirable in the interests of conciseness. Long chemical names and other cumbersome terms that have widely accepted abbreviations may be used in the text (e.g., DNA, ATP). Other abbreviations, including those that may not be familiar to the readership, must be defined in the Abbreviations footnote listed on the Title page.

Units of Measure

Use of standard metric units for reporting length, weight, volume, area, pressure, force, etc. and SI units is required throughout the manuscript. Parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) should be avoided and may only be used when that is the common measure for the science in that field. Instead express concentrations as micrograms per gram (µg g-1) or micrograms per milliliter (µg mL-1) for solutions, and microliters per liter (µL L-1) or nanoliters per liter (µL L-1) for gases. Units of temperature are presented as follows: 37 C or 324 K. If needed for clarity and reader understanding, common units of measure may be included parenthetically immediately after the standard metric unit.

• Use exponential notations instead of multiple slashes; for example use "µmol g^-1min^-1." Do not use "µmol/g/min."
• Numbers up to nine should be spelled out in the text except when referring to measurements. Numbers higher than nine are to be represented as numerals except at the beginning of a sentence. Use the preposition "to" between numerals (do not use a dash): e.g., "5 to 10 min" or "18 to 20 C." See the CBE Style Manual, most recent edition, Bethesda, MD, for more detailed information about reporting numbers. Also contained in this source is information on the appropriate SI units to be used for reporting illumination, energy, frequency, pressure, and other physical terms. Always report numerical data in the applicable SI units.

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Statistical Information

Indicate the number of replications for each experimental treatment and the number of times individual experiments were repeated. It is recommended that your submission is accompanied by evidence that the analysis was reviewed by a professional statistician. You may also provide details of calculations or analytic protocol on a separate page for the benefit of reviewers and editors (especially if the analysis is unusual or very complicated). Unless an analytical method or calculation is widely understood, do not just state its name/acronym (or the formula). Instead, describe in words what the procedure or formula accomplishes, and explain why that particular procedure was chosen over other options.

SPECIFIC FORMAT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TABLES

Tables

• All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
• For each table, please supply a table heading. The table title should explain clearly and concisely the components of the table.
• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table heading.

Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

Vertical rules/lines should not be used within a table. Explanatory footnotes should be concise. Do not imply greater accuracy in the data than is justified. Round numbers to the nearest "significant figure." Do not use dashes in a column. Use a “0” where appropriate; insert an asterisk or some other symbol if no measurement was made or no reading obtained, and then explain the symbol in a footnote. Some designation of statistical significance is generally required for tabular data, but details of the experimental design and statistical calculations should not be included in the footnotes, but rather be included in the Materials and Methods section.

SPECIFIC FORMAT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FIGURES

Figures

• All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters.
• Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
• For each figure, please supply a figure caption.
• Identify all elements found in the figure in the caption.
• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the caption.

Electronic Figure Submission

• Supply all figures electronically.
• Indicate what graphics program was used to create the artwork.
• For vector graphics, the preferred format is EPS; for halftones, please use TIFF format. MS Office files are also acceptable.
• Vector graphics containing fonts must have the fonts embedded in the files.
• Name your figure files with "Fig" and the figure number, e.g., Fig1.eps.

• Color art is free of charge for online publication.
• If black and white will be shown in the print version, make sure that the main information will still be visible. Many colors are not distinguishable from one another when converted to black and white. A simple way to check this is to make a xerographic copy to see if the necessary distinctions between the different colors are still apparent.
• If the figures will be printed in black and white, do not refer to color in the captions.
• Color illustrations should be submitted as RGB (8 bits per channel).
• Electronic supplementary material (ESM) is submitted, it will be published as received from the author in the online version only.

ESM may consist of:

• information that cannot be printed: animations, video clips, sound recordings,
• information that is more convenient in electronic form: sequences, spectral data, etc.,
• large original data, e.g. additional tables, illustrations, etc.
• If supplying any ESM, the text must make specific mention of the material as a citation, similar to that of figures and tables (e.g., ". . . as shown in Animation 3.")

For details on formats and other information, please follow the hyperlink to the specific instructions for electronic supplementary material on the right.

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AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Upon acceptance of your article you will receive a link to the special Springer web page with questions related to:

• Open Choice: In addition to the normal publication process (whereby an article is submitted to the journal and access to that article is granted to customers who have purchased a subscription), Springer now provides an alternative publishing option: Springer Open Choice. A Springer Open Choice article receives all the benefits of a regular subscription-based article, but in addition is made available publicly through Springer's online platform SpringerLink. We regret that Springer Open Choice cannot be ordered for published articles.
  Springer Open Choice [http://springer.com/openchoice]
• Copyright transfer: Author will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to The Potato Association of America (or grant the Publisher exclusive publication and dissemination rights). This will ensure the widest possible protection and dissemination of information under copyright laws.
• Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, they agree to the Springer Open Choice License.
• Online publication of color illustrations is free of charge. For color in the print version, authors will be expected to make a contribution towards the extra costs.

Online First

The article will be published online after receipt of the corrected proofs. This is the official first publication citable with the DOI. After release of the printed version, the paper can also be cited by issue and page numbers.

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(ITA TEXT Version)