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ISSN 2308-7099, ISSN 2786-6874
Plant Physiology and Genetics
 
 

Provisions on peer review

All articles submitted to the editorial board undergo a review process. The primary goal of the review is to ensure a rigorous selection of manuscripts for publication and to offer specific recommendations for improvement. This process emphasizes an objective evaluation of the article's content, assesses its alignment with the journal's standards, and provides a thorough analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. Only articles that hold scientific merit and contribute to addressing relevant scientific and economic challenges are approved for publication. The compliance of the manuscript's formatting and submission with the journal's guidelines is assessed separately (see requirements for articles).

Manuscripts, that do not meet the requirements for the design of scientific articles and raise objections from the editorial board at the stage of the initial control, are not allowed to be reviewed and are returned to the author for revision.

The main objective of a review is to ensure the thorough selection of manuscripts for publication, and to provide targeted recommendations for their enhancement. The review process provides a thorough evaluation of the submitted manuscript, focusing on an objective assessment of its content and adherence to the journal's requirements (see Ethical principles of the reviewer).

Manuscripts are reviewed confidentially. The review process is anonymous for both reviewers and authors, and is usually conducted by two independent reviewers. If a reviewer feels that his(her) expertise is not relevant to the topic of the manuscript, he(she) should withdraw from the assignment. Reviewers must also consider potential conflicts of interest, particularly if the manuscript relates to their own research. The manuscript should be treated as a confidential document – its contents must not be shared or discussed with others, except in cases where specialized consultation is required.

When evaluating the manuscript, the reviewer should address the following key questions:

  • correspondence of the subject of the manuscript to the scientific directions of the journal;
  • relevance of the research topic;
  • scientific novelty of the results and their practical significance;
  • consistency between the article's title and its content;
  • representation in the introduction of the state of the problem and justification of the work;
  • appropriateness of the research methods for the stated objectives and sufficiency of their description for reproduction;
  • adequacy and reliability of experimental data;
  • availability of statistical processing and correctness of applied statistical analysis methods;
  • validity of the conclusions made by the authors;
  • compliance of the article presentation and design of graphic material with the journal requirements;
  • recommendations for improving the manuscript;
  • need to reduce the manuscript;
  • decision on the possibility (or impossibility) of publishing the reviewed manuscript in a journal.

The reviewer is expected to evaluate the article within 3 weeks from the date of receipt and submit the review to the Editorial Board either in person or via e-mail. If the reviewer is unable to assess the article, a reasoned refusal should be provided within 3 days.

The Editor sums up the feedback from peer reviewers and makes a preliminary decision about the manuscript – to accept it as presented, to require the author's revision in accordance with the reviewer's comments, or to reject it. This decision, along with the reviewers' comments and any additional editorial requirements, is communicated to the corresponding author. If the manuscript can be published after revision, the authors are invited to make the necessary changes and resubmit the revised version. Authors are given 2 weeks to revise the manuscript. The revised version, accompanied by a point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments and explanations of any changes made, should be returned to the Editorial Office.

Reviewer decisions are not final, and authors have the right to appeal. In such cases, the manuscript may be referred to an independent expert or an adjudicating member of the Editorial Board for further evaluation. The final decision on the appeal is made by the Editorial Board.

If the Editor is satisfied with the scientific aspects of the manuscript, they recommend its acceptance for publication to the Editor-in-Chief. After the Editor-in-Chief’s decision, the Editorial Office sends a formal acceptance notification. The Editor-in-Chief holds the final responsibility for accepting or rejecting manuscripts.

The version of the article revised by the author and approved by the reviewers is accepted by the Editorial Board and sent to the Editorial Office for publication preparation. The manuscript is processed by scientific and literary editors, who can recommend the necessary corrections to the text or design of the article. The Editorial Office prepare a draft layout, which is sent to the author for review and final corrections. The version of the manuscript returned by the author is considered final, and no further changes to the text, figures, or tables are allowed.

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REGULATIONS
on the ethics of scientific publications

The Editorial Board of the scientific journal "Plant Physiology and Genetics" in its work adheres to the ethics of international scientific publications, including principles such as integrity, confidentiality, oversight of publications, prevention of potential conflicts of interest etc.

These Regulations were worked out following the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) https://publicationethics.org/, the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) https://www.wame.org/policies and adopted from the experience of esteemed international publishers. Upholding the principles of publication ethics by all parties involved in the publishing process ensures the protection of creators' intellectual property rights, enhances publication quality, and mitigates the risk of potential misuse of copyrighted material for personal gain.

This Regulation aligns with the journal's policy and constitutes one of the primary elements of article review and journal publication.

Responsibilities of authors

The authors bear personal responsibility for the manuscript submitted to the journal and are required to adhere to the following principles:

  1. Present accurate and dependable results of the conducted research. Providing false or fraudulent information is unethical and is not acceptable.
  2. Upon request from the Editorial Board, furnish baseline data for editorial review. Authors should grant open access to such data and retain it for a reasonable duration following publication.
  3. Verify that the research findings presented in the manuscript constitute an independent and original work. When incorporating excerpts from others' work or quoting statements from other authors, proper references must be included, acknowledging the author and the source. Engaging in excessive borrowing and any form of plagiarism, including inadequate references, paraphrasing, or claiming rights to others' research results, is considered unethical and unacceptable. Articles that merely compile material from other authors without incorporating original creative thought and analysis are not accepted by the editorial board.
  4. Realize that the author(s) bears responsibility for the initial novelty and reliability of the results of scientific research.
  5. Acknowledge the contributions of all individuals who influenced the course of the study or determined the nature of the presented scientific research. This includes referencing publications that were significant to the study. Information obtained privately through conversations, correspondence, or discussions with third parties should not be used without written permission from the source. All sources must be cited openly. Even if written or illustrative material from numerous individuals is used, permission must be obtained and provided to the editor.
  6. Submit only original manuscripts to the journal. Do not submit articles that have been sent to another journal and are awaiting review, nor articles previously published in another journal. Failure to adhere to this principle is considered a serious breach of publication ethics and may result in the removal of the article from review. If elements of the manuscript have been previously published, authors are obligated to reference their earlier work and specify how the new work differs significantly. Directly copying or paraphrasing one's own work is unacceptable and should only serve as the basis for new conclusions.
  7. Ensure the accurate listing of co-authors. All individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions to the concept, structure, or conduct and interpretation of results of the work should be included as co-authors. Others who participated in some aspect of the work should be acknowledged. Authors must also ensure that all co-authors have reviewed the final version of the article, approved it, and consented to its submission for publication. All authors share public responsibility for the content of the article. In multidisciplinary works, each co-author is responsible for their own contribution, with collective responsibility for the overall result. It is unacceptable to include individuals as co-authors who were not involved in the research.
  8. Promptly inform the journal's editorial board of any significant errors or inaccuracies identified during the review process or immediately after publication. Authors should collaborate with the editorial board to acknowledge and correct errors as soon as possible. If the journal discovers a significant error in a published work, the author must prepare a correction or provide evidence of the information's accuracy for publication in the journal.
  9. Clearly indicate in their manuscripts any situations where research involves chemicals, physical and chemical processes, or equipment that pose risks to human or animal health. If the research involves animals or humans as subjects, authors must ensure that all procedures comply with relevant laws and institutional principles, and that relevant government agencies have granted approval. The paper should include documentation and confirmation from the appropriate authorities regarding consent for human experiments. Respect for the privacy of individuals involved in experiments must always be upheld.
  10. Disclose all sources of financial support for the project, information about the employer, patent applications/registrations, grants, and other forms of funding in their manuscripts.
  11. Disclose any significant conflicts of interest that could influence the study's results or interpretation in their works. All potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed as early as possible.

Ethical principles of the reviewer

The reviewer provides scientific expertise to objectively assess the quality of the submitted article and its adherence to scientific, literary, and ethical standards. When evaluating the article, the reviewer must maintain impartiality and adhere to the following principles:

  1. The expert evaluation aims to assist the author in improving the text's quality and to aid the editor-in-chief in making publication decisions.
  2. Reviewers who do not consider themselves experts in the subject matter of the article or cannot provide a timely review should notify the editor-in-chief and decline the review.
  3. Reviewers cannot be authors or co-authors of the work under review. This restriction also applies to supervisors of candidates for a scientific degree and/or personnel from the author's department.
  4. Any manuscripts provided to a reviewer by the editors for review are confidential documents and should not be discussed with anyone other.
  5. Reviewers must maintain objectivity and refrain from making personal remarks about the author in their review. Reviews should express viewpoints clearly and reasonably.
  6. Reviewers are responsible for identifying published articles relevant to the reviewed article but not cited by the author. Reviewers should alert the chief editor of significant overlap or similarity between the reviewed article and any previously published work. Any statement  in the review that certain observation, conclusion, or argument in the reviewed article have been previously published elsewhere should be accompanied by accurate bibliographic references.
  7. If a reviewer suspects plagiarism, authorship issues, or data falsification, they must inform the editorial board for collective consideration of the author's article.
  8. Reviewers should provide an objective opinion on the adequacy of citing published articles in the literature related to the given subject.
  9. Reviewers must not utilize the information and ideas presented in the reviewed article for personal gain, maintaining confidentiality.
  10. Reviewers should refrain from accepting manuscripts for review in cases where a conflict of interest arises due to competition, collaboration, or other relationships with authors or institutions associated with the article.

Ethical principles in the work of the chief editor, editorial board and editorial office

The editorial board members uphold fundamental principles when considering manuscripts for publication:

  1. When making a decision on publication, the editor-in-chief of a scientific journal relies on the authenticity of the submitted data and the scientific importance of the reviewed work.
  2. The chief editor ensures impartiality, devoid of personal interests, in the acceptance or rejection of articles.
  3. The chief editor holds the responsibility of determining which presented articles will be accepted for publication and which will be rejected. The decisions are guided by the journal's policy and adhere to legal principles, thereby preventing copyright infringement and plagiarism.
  4. Evaluation of submitted articles by the chief editor is based solely on scientific merit, disregarding factors such as authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious convictions, ethnicity, nationality, origin, social status or political views.
  5. The chief editor, along with the editorial and publishing staff and members of the editorial board, should not divulge information contained within the journal article to anyone other than the author(s), assigned and potential reviewers, other editorial staff, and, if required, the publisher.
  6. Unpublished data from submitted manuscripts must not be used by the chief editor, the editorial staff, members of the editorial and publishing groups, or the editorial board for personal purposes or shared with third parties without authors’ written permission.
  7. The chief editor must refrain from approving the publication of a submitted article if there are valid reasons to suspect plagiarism.
  8. Accepted articles are placed in open access with copyright reserved by the authors.
  9. The chief editor should not ignore claims related to reviewed manuscripts or published materials. In cases of conflict, necessary steps should be taken in collaboration with the publisher to address infringed rights. Additionally, upon detecting errors, efforts should be made to facilitate the publication of corrections or refutations.
  10. The chief editor, along with the editorial staff or the journal's publishing and editorial group, is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of reviewers' identities and related information.

These principles guide ethical conduct within the editorial board, ensuring integrity and fairness in the publication process.

Ethical principles in publisher activity

The publisher is responsible for the publication of works following these basic principles and procedures:

  1. Facilitate fulfillment of ethical obligations by editors, the editorial and publishing team, the editorial board, reviewers, and authors in accordance with these specified requirements.
  2. Assist the journal in evaluating claims related to the ethical aspects of published materials and help collaborate with other journals and/or publishers as necessary to support the duties of editors.
  3. Maintain the stance that the journal's operations are non-commercial and are not aimed at generating profit.
  4. Facilitate the process of publishing corrections, explanations, refutations and apologies as required.
  5. Provide the journal an opportunity to retract publications containing plagiarism and inaccurate data.

Procedure for Handling Allegations of Violations of Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

The journal follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/) in handling allegations of violations of academic integrity and publication ethics.

The journal considers complaints and allegations concerning potential breaches of academic integrity, publication ethics, or established editorial procedures. Such breaches may include, but are not limited to: plagiarism or self-plagiarism; fabrication or falsification of research data; inappropriate authorship practices (including unjustified inclusion or exclusion of authors); undisclosed conflicts of interest; compromised or biased peer review; unauthorized use of materials belonging to other authors; violations of editorial procedures in the review, acceptance, or rejection of manuscripts; or unethical conduct by authors, reviewers, editors, or members of the Editorial Board.

Complaints may be submitted by authors, reviewers, readers, or other members of the scholarly community. All complaints must be submitted in writing to the official journal email address (editor@ifrg.kiev.ua). The complaint should clearly describe the alleged violation and provide supporting evidence where available. Contact details of the complainant must be provided. Anonymous complaints will not be considered.

Upon receipt, the complaint is registered by the Executive Secretary of the Editorial Board, and the complainant is informed of its receipt within five working days. The Editor-in-Chief conducts a preliminary assessment to determine whether the allegation falls within the scope of academic integrity or publication ethics. If the complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief, it will be handled by an authorized member of the Editorial Board.

Where necessary, the Editorial Board appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of members of the Editorial Board and, where appropriate, independent external experts. The committee conducts an impartial investigation and may request additional information or explanations from the complainant, authors, reviewers, or editors involved.

Following the investigation (normally within 30 working days of the complaint being registered), the Editorial Board makes a decision based on the committee’s recommendations. Depending on the findings, the journal may dismiss the complaint, request corrections or clarifications, publish a correction or retraction, notify the relevant institution(s) of the identified breach, or restrict future submissions by individuals found responsible for misconduct.

The complainant and the parties concerned will be informed in writing of the outcome of the investigation and the reasons for the decision. In cases of article retraction, a retraction notice will be published on the journal’s website. The electronic version of the article will remain available but will be clearly marked as “Retracted” in the PDF and in the article metadata.

If the complainant disagrees with the decision, an appeal may be submitted within 30 days of receiving the notification. Appeals will be considered by the Editorial Board or, where appropriate, by the relevant governing bodies of the journal’s founding institutions (the Academic Council of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics of the NAS of Ukraine or the Scientific Publishing Council of the NAS of Ukraine).

The journal ensures that all complaints are handled fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the principles of transparency, respect for all parties involved, and the presumption of good faith until evidence demonstrates otherwise.

Article retraction

Violation of the fundamental restrictions established in the journal’s policies, infringement of copyright, failure to comply with professional ethical standards, and misconduct in research—such as duplicate publication, false attribution of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent manipulation of data or their fabrication, or other serious violations—as well as critical errors in the research identified by the authors or the use of scientific equipment that is subsequently found to be faulty, constitute grounds for the retraction of an article. In some cases, the retraction procedure may also be applied to correct significant errors in a manuscript or published material. The primary purpose of retraction is to correct the scholarly record and maintain the scientific integrity of the publication, rather than to punish the author.

For each retracted article, the corresponding notice clearly states the reason for the retraction and identifies the person or party that initiated the procedure. According to the standards for publication retraction, a link to the retraction notice is placed in the electronic version of the original article, clearly indicating that the article has been retracted. At the same time, the original text of the publication remains unchanged, except for a watermark in the PDF version indicating “Retracted” on each page.

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Compliance with the principles and recommendations of COPE, WAME, DORA, etc.

The Editorial Board of the Journal adheres to the principles and recommendations of leading international organizations in the field of scholarly publishing.

1. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

The journal follows the ethical standards and best practices recommended by COPE, including:

  • transparency in the processes of manuscript submission, peer review, and publication;
  • impartiality and independence of editors and reviewers;
  • adherence to the principles of academic integrity, including the prevention of plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, and duplicate publication;
  • appropriate attribution of authorship and clear identification of the contribution of each author;
  • transparent procedures for handling complaints and appeals related to publication ethics;
  • established mechanisms for maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record, including corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions when necessary.

2. World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)

The journal adheres to the WAME recommendations regarding scientific publications in general (common principles for all sciences), including:

  • editorial independence and decision-making free from influence by sponsors, institutions, or commercial interests;
  • mandatory disclosure of conflicts of interest by authors, reviewers, and editors;
  • ensuring objective, fair, and timely peer review;
  • transparency regarding sources of research funding, including grants and sponsorship;
  • support for early-career researchers and encouragement of their participation in scholarly publishing.

3. San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)

The journal supports the principles of responsible research assessment by:

  • avoiding the exclusive use of bibliometric indicators (such as journal impact factor or h-index) as the primary criteria for evaluating research;
  • assessing research on the basis of its scientific quality, originality, and contribution to knowledge;
  • recognizing diverse research outputs, including datasets, software, algorithms, and technical developments;
  • supporting interdisciplinary research;
  • encouraging open science practices, including the use of preprints and open access to research data and code.

4. Open Science and Related Initiatives

The editorial policy of the journal also aligns with contemporary principles of open science, including:

  • Open Access – promoting unrestricted access to scholarly research outputs;
  • FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), which facilitate the discoverability, accessibility, interoperability, and reuse of research data;
  • Plan S – supporting policies that encourage publication in open access journals and repositories;
  • responsible and transparent use of AI technologies in research and manuscript preparation.

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Open Access Policy

The journal "Physiology of Plants and Genetics" is a fully open access journal.

All published articles are available in open access on the journal's website (ARCHIVE section) immediately after publication, without any restrictions for users. We support free and unrestricted access to scientific research in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative. According to the terms of the Creative Commons License CC BY-NC 4.0, readers are permitted, at no cost, to access and read the full text of articles; download, print, and copy materials; distribute and share articles; adapt and use publication materials for any lawful (non-commercial) purposes without prior permission from the publisher or author.

Proper referencing of the authors and the source of publication is a mandatory requirement for all forms of use of the journal’s content.

Publication of articles is free of charge: the journal does not impose any fees for peer review, article processing, printing, or providing open access to readers.

This policy promotes broad dissemination and maximizes the visibility of research published in the journal, supporting the global exchange of scientific knowledge.

Authors submitting a manuscript for publication in the journal agree to the following conditions:

  1. Authors retain the copyright to their work and grant the journal, its founder, and publisher the right of first publication under the terms of the License Agreement, as well as the right to distribute the published work under the terms of the Creative Commons License CC BY-NC 4.0, which permits others to share the work with proper attribution and a citation of the original publication in the journal.
  2. Authors certify that the submitted manuscript is their original work, that the copyright has not been transferred to another publisher, and that the article has not been previously published nor is it under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  3. Authors have the right to use their work in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons License CC BY-NC 4.0, including the following: posting the article on the author's personal website or on the website of the institution where the author is employed, or professional repositories, contributing to maximum visibility and impact of the publication; incorporating the article’s content into other own works, provided that proper reference is made to the original source of publication; distributing copies of the article in both print and electronic formats.

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Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Policy

The journal ensures the long-term preservation and open access availability of all published materials. Archiving is an integral part of the journal’s sustainability policy and guarantees the preservation of scholarly outputs for future generations of researchers.

Repositories and Preservation Systems

All electronic versions of the journal are stored on the official journal website and are freely accessible.

For long-term preservation, copies of the journal issues are deposited in:

the National Repository of Academic Texts of Ukraine (URIS / e-Repository NLU);

international archiving systems such as Zenodo (CERN, Switzerland), OpenAIRE, and LOCKSS / CLOCKSS.

Each article is assigned a unique CrossRef DOI, ensuring a permanent and stable link to the publication.

Technical Infrastructure and Accessibility

The journal provides archiving, long-term storage, and open web access to all publications in PDF and HTML formats.

To ensure the reliability and availability of the archive:

  • the server infrastructure includes a system of regular backups;
  • reliable technologies for server mirroring and data integrity verification (checksum control) are implemented;
  • the journal follows an Open Access policy, meaning that all articles are freely available without time restrictions or limits on downloads.
  • In the event that the journal ceases publication, all archived materials will remain openly accessible through institutional and international repositories.
  • The journal also ensures that article metadata and full texts are indexed in major bibliographic databases and open access aggregators, including CrossRef and Google Scholar.

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