Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

1. About the Journal and These Guidelines

The Libyan Journal of Plant Protection (LJPP) is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by the Libyan Society for Plant Protection in collaboration with Omar Al-Mukhtar University. It welcomes manuscripts in plant protection and directly related agricultural sciences and publishes in Arabic and English.

These guidelines explain the preparation and submission requirements for authors. The institutional Peer Review Policy and Publication Ethics of the Omar Al-Mukhtar University Journals Platform remain authoritative for the matters they govern; these instructions do not replace those policies.

2. Subject Areas and Contribution Types

The journal covers plant pathology, agricultural entomology and pests, nematology, weed science, plant quarantine and phytosanitary health, integrated pest management, biological control, pesticide science and impacts, pest monitoring and diagnosis, and spatial or digital applications directly related to plant protection.

·       Original research articles: studies reporting new results supported by transparent methods and analysis.

·       Specialized scientific studies and research working papers: contributions with a documented and identifiable research contribution that meet the journal’s review requirements.

·       Conference- or workshop-derived contributions: abstracts or previously published proceedings are not automatically eligible. Authors must disclose related prior publication and submit a complete manuscript with an original scholarly contribution.

The editorial board determines the appropriate OJS section for each submission. All research articles, regardless of origin, follow the adopted institutional peer-review process.

3. Initial Eligibility and Research Responsibility

·       The work must be original and must not be published or under simultaneous review elsewhere. Any related preprint or prior dissemination must be disclosed for assessment under the applicable policy.

·       The research must be within scope, with data, analysis, and conclusions that can be evaluated.

·       All authors must approve the content, author order, and submission and provide contribution details when requested.

·       Required legal, ethical, or collection permits must be secured where relevant.

·       Funding, competing interests, data availability, and substantive use of generative AI must be disclosed.

The editorial office may return an incomplete submission or decline a manuscript at screening if it is outside the journal’s scope or lacks essential scholarly requirements. Submission does not imply acceptance.

4. File Preparation and General Formatting

·       Submit an editable Microsoft Word manuscript (.docx), using A4 pages, Times New Roman 12 pt for body text, 16 pt for the title, 14 pt for section headings, and 1.5 line spacing. Number pages consecutively.

·       Use 1, 2, 3 for numbering in text, tables, and figures, with consistent scientific units, abbreviations, and terminology.

·       Upload a separate title page listing all author names, affiliations, the corresponding author’s email address, and ORCID identifiers where available.

·       The blinded manuscript must not identify authors, their institutions, or acknowledgements revealing identity. Remove identifying metadata from Word file properties wherever possible.

·       Supply tables, figures, and supplementary files separately when requested, without identifying information in materials sent for blind review.

The journal retains the core page and font requirements of its original instructions. Subsequent changes to Arabic font choice, margins, or templates take effect only when formally announced.

5. Title, Abstract, and Keywords

·       Provide a specific, concise title in Arabic and English and avoid unnecessary abbreviations.

·       Provide one abstract in each language, not exceeding 200 words each, covering the objective, methods, key findings, and conclusion; avoid unnecessary citations.

·       Include up to five relevant keywords or terms in each language and avoid needless repetition of the title.

·       Ensure that author metadata entered in OJS matches the separate title page and identify the corresponding author.

6. Scientific Structure of the Manuscript

·       Introduction: scientific context, the knowledge gap or research problem, relevant literature, and clear objectives.

·       Materials and Methods: study place and period, materials, sampling, experimental or survey design, methods of measurement, and analysis, in enough detail for assessment and feasible reproducibility.

·       Results: accurate presentation of findings without unnecessary repetition across text, figures, and tables.

·       Discussion: interpretation of findings in relation to the objectives and literature, their significance, and study limitations. Results and Discussion may be combined if appropriate.

·       Conclusions: evidence-based findings and any recommendations directly supported by the results.

·       References: sources actually cited, following the reference style described below.

Funding, acknowledgements, and other disclosures must be entered in designated fields or files and withheld from blinded review copies where they reveal identity; include them in the accepted final version as appropriate.

7. Plant Protection-Specific Reporting Requirements

Apply the following requirements as relevant to the design and subject of the study. Not every item applies to every manuscript:

·       Plant diseases: identify the host, symptoms, diagnostic approach, and pathogen identity; report morphological, molecular, or pathogenicity evidence where used and document relevant isolates or vouchers where appropriate.

·       Insects, nematodes, and weeds: specify scientific names, relevant life stages, hosts, sampling locations and dates, and identification and counting methods.

·       Control and efficacy studies: describe treatments, controls, experimental units, replicates, allocation or randomization, assessment dates, efficacy measures, and relevant field or laboratory conditions.

·       Pesticides: identify active ingredients, formulations, concentrations, rates, application method and timing, suitable controls, and relevant phytotoxicity, non-target or safety outcomes without making regulatory claims unsupported by the data.

·       Biological control: identify the biological agent and source, preparation or propagation, application, controls, effectiveness endpoints, and non-target effects where relevant.

·       Surveillance and surveys: describe the sampling frame, numbers and distribution of sites or units, temporal coverage, definitions of incidence or severity, and quality checks.

·       GIS and remote sensing: report data sources and acquisition dates, spatial and temporal resolution, coordinate reference system, processing methods, independent validation, and limitations of accuracy.

·       Statistics: identify the experimental unit, sample size and replication, tests and software, and appropriate uncertainty, confidence intervals, or effect-size measures.

Authors are encouraged to follow relevant technical guidance, including EPPO standards for the design, conduct, and reporting of plant protection efficacy trials, where appropriate; no single regulatory standard is presumed to apply to all studies.

8. Tables, Figures, and Scientific Names

·       Number tables and figures consecutively in order of first citation. Place table titles above tables and figure captions below figures; explain symbols, units, and abbreviations.

·       Provide publication-quality photographs and charts, preferably with original or vector files where available. Maps should include scale, legend, and essential spatial reference information.

·       Italicize genus and species names and identify organisms fully at first mention. Identify pesticide active ingredients by scientific name; common names may be added where useful.

·       Credit reused figures or tables and provide any required reuse permissions.

9. Citations and References

The journal retains its previously published citation system: arrange references alphabetically by the first author’s surname, then number them by their position in that alphabetized list. Cite those assigned numbers in the text. Do not number references solely by order of first citation if this conflicts with the alphabetical list.

·       Include authors, year, work title, journal or publisher, volume, issue, pages or article number, and DOI when available.

·       Do not include uncited references; check correspondence between every in-text number and the reference list before submission.

·       Use consistent journal names, author formatting, and punctuation, and provide complete DOI links where available.

Illustrative formatting only (not a real citation): 1. Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

10. Declarations and Supplementary Materials

·       Confirm originality, exclusive submission, approval of all authors, and contributions when requested.

·       State funding and grant numbers or no external funding; disclose competing interests or declare none.

·       Report relevant permits and ethics approvals, data availability, and any legal, ethical, or confidentiality restrictions.

·       Disclose substantive generative AI use in writing or data processing. Authors remain responsible for all content; AI tools cannot be authors.

·       Provide appropriate additional materials, such as data or protocols, subject to legal rights, confidentiality, and the needs of blind review.

11. Submitting through OJS

·       Register or log in, select the journal, begin a New Submission, and choose the appropriate contribution type.

·       Upload the anonymized manuscript, separate title page, and required figures or supplementary files under the correct file categories.

·       Enter bilingual metadata as required, including titles, abstracts, keywords, all authors, and affiliations.

·       Complete declarations, review metadata against uploaded files, and submit.

·       Follow editorial decisions and reviewer comments within OJS. On revision, upload the revised manuscript and a point-by-point response to reviewers.

OJS will become the official submission channel once enabled and announced. Do not send duplicate manuscripts by email unless specifically requested by the editorial office.

12. Charges, Rights, Institutional Policies, and Contact

Submission and publication fees

The journal’s original website currently states a manuscript submission fee of LYD 250 or the equivalent of USD 75, described there as non-refundable. These amounts, payment arrangements, available waivers, and any additional charges must be formally confirmed in the journal’s official fee page before OJS submissions open. Payment does not guarantee acceptance.

Open access and authors’ rights

Readers have free access to the journal’s full-text content. New articles are subject to the copyright and open-access licensing terms adopted and displayed on the journal website in alignment with the institutional policies. Rights to historical articles are not changed retrospectively without the necessary legal basis and permissions.

Peer review and research integrity

The institutional Peer Review Policy and Publication Ethics apply under the cooperation framework and govern review, correction and retraction after publication, and complaints and appeals. Authors may submit a reasoned pre-publication manuscript withdrawal request for editorial consideration under an approved procedure; this is distinct from retraction of a published article.

Reference links

·       Peer Review Policy: https://mdp.omu.edu.ly/journals/index.php/index/en/peer-review-policy

·       Publication Ethics: https://mdp.omu.edu.ly/journals/index.php/index/en/publication-ethics

·       Original journal website: https://www.ljpp.org.ly/

Pre-Submission Checklist

·       Originality, exclusive submission, and the approval and agreed order of all authors confirmed.

·       Bilingual titles, abstracts, and keywords complete and within the stated limits.

·       Separate title page; blinded manuscript and file metadata checked.

·       Methods, required approvals, disclosures, and relevant plant-protection reporting information complete.

·       Figures, tables, references, and OJS metadata consistent with the files.

·       Institutional policies, applicable charges, and publishing license reviewed before final submission.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.