Plant Research Journal (PRJ) is an open-access, peer‑reviewed international journal dedicated to disseminating significant botanical research. We invite authors to submit original manuscripts adhering to the following guidelines.

Scope of the Journal

Plant Research Journal welcomes all types of manuscripts of botanical research. It is limited to the following subject areas that have a special interest under the scope of PRJ.

The subject areas include:

• Artificial Intelligence in Botany
• Analytical Techniques in Botany
• Biodiversity Conservation
• Biochemistry and Plant Physiology
• Ecology and Climate Change Effects on Plants
• Economic and Industrial Botany
• Forest Tree Biology
• Forensic Botany
• Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology
• Plant Anatomy
• Plant Genetics
• Scientific Inquiry and Research Methods in Botany
• Systematics of Angiosperms

Copyright

When a manuscript is submitted, it indicates that the work that is being presented has not been published previously (unless in the form of an abstract or as a component of a lecture or thesis that has been published), and that it is not considered for publication any further. The reproduction, distribution, transmission, and modification of PRJ publications are all permitted for anybody so long as the original work and source are appropriately cited. Manuscripts can be submitted via our online submission system. Accepted articles are published as "In Press" and appear in the next issue.

Preceding

If authors have previously published any material before submission in PRJ, the following shall be considered as a previous publication:

1. Papers in any magazine, including online-only, non-peer-reviewed
2. Articles, book chapters, and extensive abstracts with original data in figures and tables, notably in proceedings publications and posters shown to conference participants outside the conference.

Doctoral dissertations in institutional repositories are not a previous publication. Data from website-published articles will be allowed if the author notifies the Editor at the time of submission so that the Editor may consider its acceptability for publishing. Failure to do so will result in the automatic rejection of the work. Authors with concerns about a probable previous publication that does not fit into one of these categories should send it to the journal's editorial office for review.

The journal's editorial staff urges you not to publish your article or a revised version on a preprint site after submission. This limitation is withdrawn if your submission is rejected or you withdraw it from editorial consideration.

Authorship Criteria

At both submission and revision, authors must verify that their paper meets the PRJ criteria in terms of level, length, and format to save time and avoid aggravation. The entire author and associated author names, a synopsis or abstract, and different keywords from the main content must be included in submitted articles. When it comes to the parts of their work, authors are believed to be responsible. Furthermore, it is considered that the writers have confidence in the honesty of the entire work presented in the document. Authors must meet the COPE authorship guidelines. Each author's contribution must be substantial and clearly defined.

There is a strong recommendation that authors make a statement after their work acknowledging the real contribution each co-author made to accomplish the research. Two co-authors may be characterized as having contributed equally to the work being discussed when the journal allows for this definition. Each author and co-author is responsible for describing what they have done to the research being published, and this information will be included in the article under the section titled "authors' contributions." In the acknowledgements section, the names of any other people who contributed to the work but are not the authors should be included, along with a description of what they accomplished.

Provision of the details of potential Reviewers

To facilitate the review process, authors are requested to provide the editor with the contact information for three qualified reviewers. Any of these names or addresses need not be used by the editor. To expedite the review process, the editing office may request that you recommend potential judges for papers covering new subjects; failing to comply with this request may cause your work to be delayed.

Plagiarism & AI Policy

The journal strictly adheres to the HEC Pakistan plagiarism policy. Submissions must not exceed a 19% similarity index and must contain zero percent AI, as verified by a Turnitin report.

Manuscript Formatting

The article submission must include a cover letter addressed to the Editor PRJ, the title of the article, highlight the research importance, the authors' consent to publishing, any supporting manuscripts, and any other material should be included with every submission. To maintain contact, the author must provide up-to-date phone numbers, as well as corresponding mailing and email addresses. Use Microsoft Word (.doc/docx), Times New Roman, 1.5‑spaced, 12‑point font. Page margins should be moderate (1" top, 1" bottom, 0.75" right, 0.75" left). Authors may be referred to a sample article of the journal PRJ for formatting guidance.

Manuscript Title

It is recommended that the title should not exceed 25 words in length, in 14‑point font, bold. Neither abbreviations nor acronyms should be used in the title, and it should be a succinct statement that describes the contents of the work.

Author Information

Complete names as well as affiliations of all authors must be provided in a 12‑point font. Contact details (Official telephone, WhatsApp, and Email) of the corresponding author are mandatory.

Abstract

The abstract must be thorough, comprehensive, and self‑explanatory, succinctly presenting the subject, clearly delineating the scope of the research, and highlighting key findings. It should highlight significant results and conclusions. The abstract must encapsulate the manuscript's substance in under 250 words. Standard terminology must be used, and the use of abbreviations in the abstract should be avoided. The suggested format must include the study's background, methodology, findings, and conclusion.

Keywords

After the abstract, five keywords must be provided. The keywords should not be taken from the title and abstract.

Introduction

In the introduction, establishing the essence of the article by presenting a clear and concise research statement is the responsibility of the authors. It should include relevant literature on the research topic, as well as the plan of action or solution being presented. The introduction must be sufficiently comprehensive to capture the interest of readers from diverse scientific fields. In the final paragraph, the concluding lines should include the aims and objectives of the study.

Materials and Methods

This section should provide a comprehensive summary of the study planning. There should be detailed descriptions provided of the materials, participants, comparisons, interventions, and various types of analysis. Processes that have been published in the past have to be mentioned, and any newly developed processes ought to be detailed in great depth. Modifications that are essential to the disclosed methods should be described succinctly. In addition to capitalizing trade names, authors should also provide the name and address of the manufacturer, if it is available.

Results and Discussion

In this section, the complete story of your results should be described. Tables and figures should be mentioned consecutively as they appear in the results. Separate sections should be created for results and discussion, although both may be combined when limitations are present. The discussion should be logical and reflect the uniqueness of the contribution and discoveries being addressed, in light of the most current research in the field.

Conclusion

Key findings of the current research, comprising not more than 100 words, should be provided.

Authors’ Contribution

In this section, details of the contribution of all authors must be included.

Conflict of Interest

All contributors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest by stating their name, employment, or services.

Acknowledgement

In this segment, authors should include acknowledgements to people, as well as details about grants and funding.

References

The list of references should be arranged in alphabetical order and follow APA citation style. Examples:

• Journal: Akram, M., Sajid, Z.A., & Aftab, F. (2025). Effect of plant growth regulators on in vitro callus induction of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Plant Research Journal, 01(01), 01–10.
• Book: Akram, M., Sajid, Z.A., & Aftab, F. (2025). Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology (2^nd ed.). Springer Nature.
• Book chapter: Nadeem, M. (2025). Micropropagation. In M. Akram, Z.A. Sajid, & F. Aftab (Eds.), Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology (2^nd ed., pp. 200–250). Springer Nature.
• Online article: Akram, M. (2025, July 7). Micropropagation. https://www.rhs.org.uk/propagation/micropropagation.

Tables

Single line spacing in tables is preferred. Tables should be self‑explanatory, with abbreviations explained below the table. Authors must use either tables or graphs, not both to present the same data. In-text references to tables should be formatted as (Table 1).

Figures

Figures should be clear, high‑resolution (≥300 dpi), self‑explanatory, and understandable. File formats accepted: JPEG, PNG, TIFF. Multiple images may be combined into a plate with labels (letters/numbers), size bars, and scale values. Equations, if any, should be supplied in JPEG format. In-text references to figures should be formatted as (Fig. 1).

Galley Proof and Final Corrections

Once the article has passed peer review, the editorial office prepares galley proofs and sends them to the corresponding author for review. Only typographical corrections are allowed. Corrections must be returned within three days, or publication may be delayed.

Article Publication Charges (APC)

PRJ is open-access and self-supporting, with no external agency funding. After galley proof approval, the author receives an APC bill:

Pakistani Authors: PKR 15,000

International Authors: USD 100

Article Submission Checklist

1. Cover letter addressed to the Editor‑in‑Chief (mention article novelty, all authors’ agreement, and corresponding author info).
2. Full-length manuscript (.doc/.docx) including all tables, figures, and supplementary files in order.
3. Important Note: During online submission, list author names in the same sequence as in the manuscript.