Submission Guidelines

Agricultural Engineering Today (AET) publishes success stories, and prominent technical articles of modern/contemporary world along with information/ data related to Agricultural Engineering and Technology, industry driven news & research, Govt. policies, initiatives & accomplishment, scientific innovation & technology outreach covering the emerging areas in agricultural engineering and allied sectors.

AUDIENCE OF AET

Farmers, agricultural machinery manufacturers and industries, policy makers, scientists, engineers, students, youths searching for careers and academicians associated with agriculture and allied activities.

PREFERENCES IN PUBLICATION

The AET is primarily meant for publishing information in any area of Agricultural Engineering, technology and allied fields that may be useful to technology developers and users, manufacturers, farmers and budding entrepreneurs, students, youth searching for careers, planners and policy makers. Articles/ papers from industry and extension agencies are encouraged. Technical articles/success stories whose content either has been adopted or has potential for adoption is preferred. Articles with export and import data and statistics of important areas of relevance available on Government published documents and websites are appreciated as well. Length of manuscript should not exceed 1,500 words (including body text, tables and figure).

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPT

Technical articles of interest, current /latest developments in Agricultural engineering, application of computers, robotics, AI in agricultural engineering; advancements in food technology, livestock product processing, dairy technology, extraction and applications of high-value compounds from agricultural produce etc. Technical articles should focus on in-depth reporting on the latest, rigorously conducted research in agricultural engineering and related technologies. These articles shall present findings that have either been adopted by stakeholders in the field or hold significant potential for adoption and contribute meaningfully to the advancement of agricultural practices and technologies.

Success stories should be compilations of scientific and technical information of successful agricultural technologies, truly proven by outreach, dissemination and demonstration with impact at various grassroots and stallholders.

Invited articles from any eminent personality of repute from Industries, Government/non-governmental organizations, scientists and engineers on a specific topic for a specific issue.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT

Soft copy of the manuscript in Microsoft (MS) Word, along with a request letter, should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief through e-mail (Email: [email protected]; [email protected]). The manuscript is to be written in English language [English (India)] using MS Word, typed in double space in single column on A-4 size page. The editor-in-chief herself/himself may also invite articles from any eminent personality of repute from Industries, Government/non-governmental organizations, scientists and engineers on a specific topic for a specific issue.

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

Soft copy of the manuscript should be prepared in MS Word using Times New Roman Font using the specified font size as mentioned below.

  • Title: 14 pt., Bold, Title Case (e.g., "Innovations in Agricultural Engineering")
  • Author Name: 12 pt., Bold, Title Case (e.g., John Smith)
  • Text: 12 pt., Normal font
  • Heading: 12 pt, Uppercase, bold (e.g., “CONTRIBUTIONS TO INDIAN AGRICULTURE”)
  • Sub-heading: 12 pt., Bold, Title Case (e.g., "Main Points")
  • Fig/Table Caption: 12 pt., Bold, Sentence Case (e.g., "Figure 1: Milk production status in India")
  • References: Follow a specific style guide (e.g., APA: 10 pt., Times New Roman, hanging indent).
  • Footnote: 9 pt., Italics
  • Use the equation editoror Math Type for equations.
  • Use the table function, not spreadsheets to make tables.
  • Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar
  • Always use internationally accepted signs and symbols for units, and use SI units.
  • Manuscript should be ‘spell checked' and 'grammar checked’ using English (India) as proofing language
  • Ensure all references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
  • Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.
  • Save your file in docx format (Word 2007 or higher) or doc format (older Word versions).

Manuscript should be well structured and arranged as follows

  • Title: The title should be concise and informative. Prime letters of prime words shall be capital. Avoid abbreviations and formulae in the Title.
  • Short title should be avoided, if at all needed should not be of more than 80 characters
  • Author name(s): Provide name, designation and affiliation, full postal and email addresses for each author. Please also indicate who the corresponding author is. The e-mail address of the corresponding author must be mentioned for further correspondence. Corresponding Author acts on behalf of all co-authors and ensures that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately addressed.
  • Main text: For clarity this should be sub-divided into:
    • Introductory paragraph without giving heading of Introduction: This should describe about background, importance, present status, future needs of this developments/research work etc.
    • Heading and sub-headings of articles may be chosen by the authors based on demands of articles. Main headings shall be prime letters capitals and sub-headings in sentence case. Altogether this portion of article should describe fully about the technologies/processes/products and their features, potential of impact on improving life of common people.
  • In case of studies involving performance analysis, results of economic and social impact studies with evidence using actual data/graph etc. a separate section should explore the significance of the performance of the technology and its implication on agricultural growth and society etc. Any limitations etc. of the present study/ developed technology should also be briefly mentioned and discussed.
  • List of symbols: Should be avoided, if at all needed all symbols must be defined wherever used in the text.
  • Acknowledgment: Optional, depending upon the cases.
  • Units: Only SI units are accepted.  All units should be written as in the style kg m-2
  • Language: English (India)
  • References: Only important and most essential references (preferably of last five years) should be cited as a footnote (No separate section for References are required) as per the APA (American Psychological Association) Style of referencing. Examples of Reference Citations in text – APA Style as given below. Authors are also encouraged to include relevant references from the Journal of Agricultural Engineering (India)/ Agricultural Engineering Today, wherever possible.
  • In text citations:
  1. If author's name occurs in the text, follow it with year of publication in parentheses.

Example: Singh (2016) modeled stream flows

  1. If author's name is not in the text, insert last name, comma, year in parenthesis.

Example: Stream flows were modeled (Singh, 2016)

  1. If the author’s name and the date of publication have been mentioned in the text of your paper, they should not be repeated within parentheses.

Example: In 2016, Singh modeled stream flows …

  1. If a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text. Connect both names by using the word "and."

Example: Kumar and Bhattacharya (1967) employed multiple …

  1. If a work has two authors and they are not included in the text, insert within parentheses, the last names of the authors joined by an ampersand (&), and the year separated from the authors by a comma

Example: … multiple models were employed (Kumar & Bhattacharya, 1967)

  1. If a work has more than two authors (but fewer than six), cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; include the last name followed by "et al." and the year in subsequent citations of the same reference.

Example: First occurrence - Thakur, Dhingra and Mann (2019)

Subsequent citation - Thakur et al. (2019)

  1. If a work has more than six authors, cite first author followed by "et al." and the year.

Example: Jha et al., (2019)

  1. If two or more citations by the same author(s) are listed consecutively, they should be combined

Example: (Mishra, 1999, 2001; Mishra & Tiwari, 2003, 2004; Mishra et al., 2006, 2008).

  1. To distinguish two or more papers by the same author(s) published in the same year, add a, b, c, etc. after the year: the corresponding letter should also appear with the date in the reference list.

Example: (Pandey, 1995a,1995b; Pandey et al., 2001a, 2001b, 2001c);

  1. If two or more references of more than three but less than six surnames with the same year, shorten to the same form (e.g., both Pathak, Mehta, Prasad, & Rao, 2013, and Pathak, Mehta, Prasad, Sahay, & Agarwal, 2013), shorten to cite the surnames of the first authors and of as many of the subsequent authors as necessary to distinguish the two references followed by a comma and “et al.”:

Example: Pathak, Mehta, Prasad and Rao (2013) and Pathak, Mehta, Prasad, Sahay, et al. (2013).

  • In the Reference List:

Journal Paper

  • Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of article. Title of periodical, xx(x), pp-pp. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxxxxx
  • Silva, T. P., Bressiani, D., Ebling, É. D. & Reichert, J. M. (2023). Best management practices to reduce soil erosion and change water balance components in watersheds under grain and dairy production. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 12(1), 121-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.06.003

Authored Book and Reports

  • Kepner, R.A., Bainer, R. and Barger, E.L. 1971. Principles of Farm Machinery. Second Edition, The AVI Publishing Company , USA, 527p.
  • 2014. Concept Note on Geogenic Contamination of Ground Water in India (with a Special Note on Nitrate). Report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, pp. 78. https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/1686055710748531399file.pdf (accessed on 03 January 2024)

Edited Book

  • Varzakas, T. and Tzia, C. (editors) 2015. Handbook of Food Processing. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 741p. https://doi.org/10.1201/b19397

Book Chapter

  • Mosley, M.P. and McKerchar, A.I. 1993. Streamflow. Chapter 8. In: D.R. Maidment (editor in chief), Handbook of Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, p. 8.1-8.35.

 

Paper in Conference Proceedings

  • Bachmat, Y. and Collin, M. 1987. Mapping to assess groundwater vulnerability to pollution. In: van Duijvenbooden, W. and van Waegeningen, H.G. (editors), Proceedings of the International Conference on Vulnerability of Soil and Groundwater to Pollutants. National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, Noodwijk aan zee, The Hague, The Netherlands, pp. 297-307.

Report

  • 2014. Concept Note on Geogenic Contamination of Ground Water in India (with a Special Note on Nitrate). Report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, pp. 78. https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/1686055710748531399file.pdf (accessed on 03 January 2024)

Manual

  • Šejna, M., Šimůnek, J. and van Genuchten, M. 2018. The HYDRUS Software Package for Simulating Two- and Three-Dimensional Movement of Water, Heat, and Multiple Solutes in Variably-Saturated Media. User Manual, Version 3.01. PC-Progress, Prague, Czech Republic, 322p.

Dissertation

  • Ajia, F.O. 2020. Water efficiency engagement in the UK: barriers and opportunities. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Web Reference

  • As a minimum, the full URL and the date when the reference was last accessed should be given within the text.
  • (Ranking of the world's countries by 2013 total CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel burning, cement production, and gas flaring. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), The United States Department of Energy, U.S. http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/top2013.tot. accessed on 23 February 2017)
  • Any further information, if known (DOI, author name(s), date, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference
  • FAO-AGL. 2003. FAOterrastat database. http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/terrastat/wsrout.asp?wsreport=2a&egion=8&search=Display+statistics+%21 (accessed on 03 January 2024).
  • 2002. Persistent Organic Pollutants: A Global Issue, A Global Response. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/persistent-organic-pollutants-global-issue-global-response (accessed on 25 May 2018).

OTHER IMPORTANT GUIDELINES

Cover letter: The corresponding author must state explicitly in a paragraph how the manuscript fits the Aims and Scope of the AET, while submitting the manuscript. The ISAE membership number, if available, of the FIRST AUTHOR may be mentioned.

Maintaining transparency and integrity: The manuscript should not be submitted to more than one places for simultaneous consideration. The submitted work should be original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of a previous work. Please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the concerns about text-recycling/ ‘self-plagiarism’. Self-duplication and similarity index of any other’ manuscripts should not be more than 30% and 15%, respectively.

Publishing Ethics: All parties [author(s), editors, peer reviewers, publisher (ISAE)] involved in publications are expected to follow the publication ethics and practice the same. This includes all parties treating each other with respect and dignity and without discrimination, harassment, bullying or retaliation. The AET is committed to maintain the highest level of integrity in the published content. While submitting a manuscript to the AET, the authors will give an undertaking for maintaining transparency and integrity and practicing publishing ethics.  

Changes in authorship: Authors should carefully consider the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Request for any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made before the manuscript is accepted, and only if approved by the Editor-in-Chief of the AET on submission. To request such a change, the Editor-in-Chief must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the requested change in author list, and (b) written confirmation (e-mail / letter) from all (original submission and proposed) authors that they agree with the addition, removal, or rearrangement without any conflict of interest.

Preprint Policy:  The authors are required to include details of a preprint posting, including DOI or other persistent identifier, while submitting their manuscript. Upon receipt of acceptance of a manuscript for publication in the AET, the corresponding author must agree to the terms of the relevant publishing agreement. After the final version of the work is published in the AET, the preprint shall be immediately linked with the published version (the ‘Version of Record’) by the corresponding author(s).

Submission of revised manuscript: While submitting the revised manuscript, the authors should submit a list of changes or a rebuttal against each point raised by the Reviewers/ Editorial Board along with the revised manuscript. Authors are also advised to use the “track change option” of MS WORD to indicate the changes made in the revised manuscript, and submit a revised manuscript in track change mode along with a corrected version without track change corrections/edits, and all corrections written in RED COLOUR.

Print proof: The corresponding author will be notified via email when proofs are ready, and he/she is responsible to carryout proof reading very carefully within given time frame to avoid errors in the final published article. Any corrections marked with annotations must be returned within given time and should only cover typesetting errors/minor corrections. No new additions of text / major changes are allowed at this stage. 

Copyright Information: Upon acceptance of an article for publication in the Agricultural Engineering Today (AET), authors will be advised to complete a “Copyright Transfer and Publication Ethics Agreement Form”). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming acceptance of the manuscript together with a “Copyright Transfer and Publication Ethics Agreement Form” or a link to the online version of this agreement.

Authors have the rights to reuse their research work reported in the AET, share, disseminate, and maximize the impact of their research under our publishing agreement. Subscribers may reproduce the Table of Content or prepare a list of articles, for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included in the manuscript, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) suitably in the article.

Appeals and Complaints: Any complaint and appeal on editorial decisions, long procedural delays and publication ethics is handled by the Editor-in-Chief and/or the Editor who handled the manuscript. On receiving an appeal against rejection, the Editor-in-Chief or handling Editor considers the authors’ argument, the reviewer reports / Editorial Board comments, and decides whether (a) the appeal should be considered; (b) the decision to reject should stand; or (c) another independent technical opinion of a subject-matter expert is required. The complainant, if appropriate, is informed of the decision with required explanation. On receiving complaint about publication Ethics, the Editor-in-Chief or handling Editor decides on a course of action and provides feedback to the complainant as per the AET  policies and guidelines.