Founded in 1966 in the city of Rio de Janeiro by the then Department of Agricultural Research and Experimentation (Departamento de Pesquisa e Experimentação Agronômica – DPEA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, the journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) was born with the purpose of centralizing and disseminating national technical-scientific production. After migrating to Brasília, the journal was incorporated in 1973 by the newly created Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), becoming its main scientific diffusion asset.

Throughout its trajectory, PAB overcame operational and structural challenges, initiating, from the 1990s onwards, a broad process of editorial and technological modernization to maintain its periodicity and consolidate its open access policies and internationalization. Among the milestones of this growth process, notable achievements include the publication of articles entirely in English, the implementation of the Open Journal System (OJS), XML tagging of articles for reading on mobile devices, and the adoption of the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and the continuous publication system. These updates enabled the journal’s indexing in major global databases, such as AGRIS, CAB Abstracts, SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science. Establishing itself as a journal of national and international relevance, PAB covers topics related to various fields of knowledge in agricultural research, with a vast collection of published articles (see the archives at https://www.scielo.br/j/pab/grid and https://apct.sede.embrapa.br/pab/issue/archive).

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira adopts the Diamond Open Access model, ensuring free and immediate access to the final version of the published articles. No fees are charged to authors and users.

As part of the submission process, all authors must confirm manuscript compliance with Open Science guidelines by uploading the duly-filled Manuscript Submission Cover Letter to the ScholarOne – PAB submission platform.

Committed to the integrity, transparency, and accuracy of scientific research, the journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira adopts SciELO’s Guide to best Practices for Strengthening Ethics in Scientific Publication, in addition to Scopus recommendations for handling ethical issues, based on the guidelines of reference organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT).

These standards guide the resolution of cases of ethical misconduct, covering issues related to authorship, plagiarism, peer review, data manipulation, conflicts of interest, errata, and retractions.

As part of this ethical rigor, all approved manuscripts are submitted to a similarity check tool for the detection of plagiarism and scientific redundancy.

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) is an annual continuous-flow and open-access publication by Embrapa. It edits and publishes original technical-scientific articles, in English, resulting from relevant researches in agriculture. The main form of contribution is the article, but PAB also publishes scientific notes, as well as review papers invited by the editor-in-chief.

PAB is a multidisciplinary journal in Agricultural Sciences, covering core themes for the sector’s development. Throughout its 60-year history, the journal has established a strong publishing record in fundamental fields such as Agrometeorology, Aquaculture Entomology, Statistics, Plant Physiology, Plant Pathology, Crop Science, Pomology, Genetics, Irrigation and Drainage, Microbiology, Soil Science, Food Technology, Seed Technology, and Animal Science. Key research topics include biological control, pests and diseases, biological nitrogen fixation and biofertilizers, plant and animal genetics and breeding for tropical environments, soil and water management and conservation, (bio)input-use efficiency, Crop Science, plant production and management in cropping systems, and animal management and performance in livestock systems. However, the journal welcomes submissions of manuscripts on other topics of interest for the advancement of agriculture.

• ALICE Repository – Open access to scientific information from Embrapa
• CAB Abstracts
• FAO AGRIS - International System for Agricultural Science and Technology
• Embrapa Journal Portal
• SciELO
• Scopus
• Web of Science

• Journal title: Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira
• Abbreviated title: Pesqui. Agropecu. Bras. (Online)
• Published by: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa)
• Periodicty: Annual
• Publication modality: Continuous publication
• Journal creation year: 1966
• Print ISSN: 0100-204X
• Online ISSN: 1678-3921
• Previous title: Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira. Série Agronômica

• Official websites: https://www.scielo.br/journal/pab/ and https://apct.sede.embrapa.br/pab

In line with the Open Science movement, the journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira accepts the submission of preprints deposited previously or in parallel in reliable repositories, such as SciELO Preprints. Because they are considered manuscripts, preprints are not deemed prior publication.

At the time of submission (specifically in the Manuscript Submission Cover Letter to be uploaded as “Supplemental material not for review”), authors must inform whether their manuscript is a preprint, obligatorily indicating its CC-BY license and respective DOI. PAB recommends that authors consider public comments that the preprint may have received.

Preprints will be submitted to the editorial process like other manuscripts, except regarding peer review, which will be single-blind (authors are known, but reviewers are not).

Initial evaluation

Manuscripts submitted to Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) undergo a rigorous evaluation process. Initially, the editorial board formed by the coeditors conducts a preliminary analysis of each manuscript to verify alignment to the journal’s scope, originality and novelty, adherence to formatting guidelines, clear formulation of objective, clarity and cohesion of writing, theoretical framework, updated literature review, methodological coherence and accuracy, results with significant contributions, discussion of obtained results in relation to the literature, quality of tables and figures, and consistency of conclusions. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria may be rejected and returned to the authors.

Manuscripts approved in this initial analysis are submitted to similarity check software (plagiarism detection). All legal and regulatory documentation required for research involving animals or humans is also checked, including the appropriate ethics committee certificates, which must be attached to the ScholarOne (PAB) submission platform. In case of contradictions or inconsistencies in the presented documentation, the journal reserves the right to reject the article.

Peer review

Aligning with Open Science practices, the adopted peer review process can be double-blind or single-blind depending on the format the manuscript was submitted in:

• Double-blind: A model ensuring mutual anonymity between authors and reviewers to prevent bias and conflicts of interest. Applied to manuscripts in general.
• Single-blind: Only the reviewers remain anonymous. Applied to manuscripts that the authors choose to submit previously or simultaneously in preprint format.

The co-editors are responsible for inviting field specialists (peer reviewers) holding a Ph.D. to conduct the evaluation. Reviewers are selected after search in the submission platform and databases, such as Plataforma Lattes (Lattes Curriculum).

Based on the received reviews (at least two) and their own analysis, the co-editor suggests an action to the editor-in-chief regarding the manuscript, which can be: accept, minor revision, major revision, reject & resubmit, or reject. The final decision is made jointly with the editor-in-chief and officially communicated to the corresponding author via a standard message sent by the ScholarOne system. The reviews of the manuscript are provided at this stage.

Reformulation and authors’ response

When the manuscript receives decisions of minor revision, major revision, or reject and resubmit, authors must prepare a new revised version of the manuscript for the corresponding author to (re)submit within the stipulated deadline. All changes in the text must be clearly highlighted in a different font color.

The new version of the manuscript must be sent together with a Cover Letter for the Revised Version detailing all modifications made. Should the authors disagree or choose not to comply with any reviewer suggestion/recommendation, they must present a reasoned and valid justification.

If, during their check of the revised version, the co-editor finds that the requests were not fully addressed or justified, the manuscript will be returned to the authors for corrections and clarifications in a new round of review. Additionally, at the co-editor’s discretion, the corrected text may be resent to the original reviewers for validation. Refusal or failure to respond satisfactorily to these pending issues may result in the desk rejection of the manuscript.

PAB does not accept the resubmission of formally rejected articles (with a final decision of rejection), neither in the initial phase nor after peer review.

Editorial processing, proofs, and publication

After the manuscript is formally accepted, it is routed to editorial processing. This step consists of a meticulous review of grammar, content, and references conducted by PAB editors and reviewers, followed by layout and formatting. PAB reserves the right to request additional modifications to the authors during this process.

Once formatting is completed, the article is sent in the form of “galley proof” to the corresponding author. If new information is needed during this stage, the editorial team will get in touch via email. After final approval of the proof by the corresponding author and editor-in-chief, the article is tagged in XML language and published.

The final layout of the article published in PDF will display:

• On the first page: The section and type of article, author’s names and affiliations, received and accepted dates, the appropriate citation format, and the DOI identifier.
• On the last page: Author contributions, identification of the editor(s) responsible for evaluating the article, data availability statement, AI technology use statement, conflict of interest statement, funding, acknowledgments, and publisher’s note.

Observation: To track the status of the manuscript, the corresponding author must log into the ScholarOne system in their author profile. If they are unable to locate the desired information, they may request support from the journal directly on the platform, providing their system identification number (ScholarOne ID).

Post-publication

Any errors identified by authors or users after publication must be communicated to the editor-in-chief. After due verification, the corrections will appear in an erratum in the next volume of the journal

Storage and availability of research data

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira encourages the sharing of data, codes, methods, and other materials underlying the published articles, based on the Guide to Promoting the Opening, Transparency and Reproducibility of Research Published by SciELO Journals. The sharing of this content (generically identified as “research data”) is the sole responsibility of the authors and aims to strengthen scientific transparency and reproducibility.

Forms of availability

Preferably, authors must provide the data used in the research within the manuscript. When this is not possible, the data can be provided in two ways: through supplementary files uploaded directly to the submission platform; or by storing in external repositories that meet the FAIR principles of findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable data.

Data availability statement

At the time of submission (specifically in the Manuscript Submission Cover Letter to be uploaded as “Supplemental material not for review”), authors must declare the availability status of their research data, by selecting one of the following options:

A. Available data:

□The entire dataset supporting the results of this study has been published in the manuscript.
The entire dataset supporting the results of this study has been published in the manuscript and in “Supplementary materials”.
□ The entire dataset supporting the results of this study is available in [repository name] and can be accessed at [URL or DOI].
□ The entire dataset supporting the results of this study is available in [repository name] with identifiers [List of identifiers].
□ The entire anonymized dataset supporting the results of this study is available in [repository name] and can be accessed at [URL or DOI].

B. Data available upon request:

□The entire dataset supporting the results of this study is available upon request to the corresponding author [Name of corresponding author]. The dataset is not publicly available due to [Detail the reason for the restriction, such as containing information that compromises the privacy of research participants].
□The entire dataset supporting the results of this study is available upon request to [Organization name]. The dataset is not publicly available due to [Detail the reason for the restriction, such as containing information that compromises the privacy of research participants].

If the manuscript is accepted for publication, “Data availability” will be indicated at the end of the published article.

To cite and reference this data, authors must use SciELO’s Guidelines for Research Data Citation (Portuguese only).

Use of SciELO Data

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira recommends using the SciELO Data repository for data storage. Depositing in this server should only occur after the final acceptance of the manuscript, and the authors are solely responsible for consulting the terms and conditions of use of this platform in advance.

Authors may choose other repositories, as long as these meet the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles, guaranteeing the visibility, sharing, and effective reuse of data by the scientific community. SciELO provides a List of repositories for research data deposit (Portuguese only).

Committed to the principles of Open Science and publication ethics, the journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) follows the guidelines of SciELO’s Guide to Best Practices for Strengthening Ethics in Scientific Publishing. Additionally, the journal adopts the integrity practices recommended by Scopus, based on the guidelines of reference organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT).

In the initial evaluation phase, all manuscripts are submitted to similarity check software to ensure the originality and novelty of the content and to prevent misconduct. Texts with a high similarity are returned, and other cases are analyzed individually by the editorial team. Should plagiarism or redundancy be suspected, the process is suspended for investigation conducted by the editor-in-chief.

If errors or inconsistencies are identified after publication, PAB adopts the following instruments to preserve the integrity of the scientific record:

Erratum

Used for the correction of “honest mistakes” (unintentional) that do not compromise the essence of the research. The erratum documents the change and is permanently linked to the original article. Corrections in metadata (such as DOI, author names, affiliations, titles, abstracts, references, and funding information) can be made directly in the article itself, according to SciELO’s Guide for the Publication of Erratum.

Retraction (partial or total)

It is the public instrument used to record serious problems or communicate the cancellation of a document due to misconduct or a fundamental error that invalidates the results. It can be total, when it invalidates the entire content, or partial, when restricted to specific parts that do not compromise the research as a whole. The retracted article will not be removed (“unpublished”), remaining indexed with a “Retracted” tag and a formal notice explaining the reason for the decision, following SciELO’s Guide for the Publication of Retraction.

To ensure the credibility and transparency of the manuscript, authors must declare any conflicts of interest (academic, commercial, financial, personal, political) that could influence the preparation or evaluation of the manuscript. Omitting this information is considered an ethical misconduct.

At submission, the authors must disclose the existence of conflicts of interest in the Manuscript Submission Cover Letter, which should be duly filled, signed, and attached to the submission platform as “Supplemental material not for review”.

Disclosure of financial and Non-financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest

As an ethical integrity measure, all manuscripts are submitted to a similarity check tool at the initial evaluation phase. Texts with a high similarity are returned, and the other cases are analyzed individually by the editorial team.

Authors must ensure the novelty of the content of their manuscripts, avoiding the duplication of passages from third parties or their own already published works. If it is indispensable to reference information from previous studies in the Materials and Methods section, authors must paraphrase the text and cite the original source instead of reproducing it in its entirety.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be used to aid in the preparation, writing, revision, and translation of manuscripts, acting strictly as linguistic or methodological support. In alignment with the best practices of scientific integrity, any use of AI must be explicitly declared by specifying the name and version of the used tool in the following documents: Manuscript Submission Cover Letter, at submission; and in the manuscript, in the Materials and Methods section.

It should be highlighted that authorship is restricted to human beings. AI systems do not have legal or ethical personality and, therefore, cannot assume responsibility for the generated content, as per the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Thus, authors hold full responsibility for the manuscript, including AI-assisted passages, and are liable for any inaccuracies or ethical violations.

Omitting the use of AI is considered a serious misconduct that compromises the principles of transparency and honesty in research.

For detailed guidelines, please refer to the Guide to the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools and Resources in Research Communication on SciELO

At the time of submission, research involving human participants, animals, or Brazilian biodiversity must include proof of approval by the competent ethics committees or authorities, depending on the nature of the study:

• Animal studies: Certificate of approval issued by the Ethics Committee on Animal Use (Comissão de Ética no Uso de Animais – CEUA).
• Research involving human participants: Certificate of approval issued by the Research Ethics Committee (Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa – CEP).

The approval protocol number must be included in the body of the manuscript, under the Materials and Methods section.

Please note: If the authors have not submitted the project for ethical evaluation, they must attach a reasoned statement justifying this exemption in accordance with current legislation. The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira provides templates for Animal Research Statement and Human Research Statement.

• Research accessing Brazilian biodiversity: Proof of registration or authorization in the National System for the Management of Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge (Sistema Nacional de Gestão do Patrimônio Genético e do Conhecimento Tradicional Associado – SisGen), under the terms of Law No. 13,123/2015.
• In cases of biological material collection in protected areas or involving wild species: Authorization from the Biodiversity Authorization and Information System (Sistema de Autorização e Informação em Biodiversidade – Sisbio/ICMBio).

The registration or approval protocol number must be included in the body of the manuscript, under the Materials and Methods section.

Attention: Failure to provide these documents or any irregularities in them will result in the desk rejection of the manuscript.

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) adopts the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which ensures free and immediate access to all published content. Under this license, authors grant the journal the right of first printed and online publication. Any user is allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, adapt, share, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, as well as crawl them for indexing, process them as data for software, or use them for any other legal purpose, as long as the source is properly cited.

PAB encourages authors to upload the final version of their articles (self-archiving) in institutional repositories, personal blogs, and academic or social networks, for example, provided that the full citation and its respective DOI are included.

Journal responsibility:

Articles in the journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) are published in open access, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. The journal follows DOAJ guidelines, ensuring that scientific production is freely reused, distributed, and adapted, provided the original work is correctly cited.

Author responsibility:

Upon having their works approved, authors grant PAB the right of first printed and online publication. The journal commits to publishing and providing access to the entire work under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which allows third parties to share, distribute, adapt, and index the text, as long as the source is properly cited.

Authors are encouraged to share the final version of their articles (self-archiving and promotion) in institutional repositories, personal blogs, and academic or social networks, for example, provided that the full citation and link to respective DOI are included.

• Edemar Joaquim Corazza, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília/DF, Brazil. Lattes: https://lattes.cnpq.br/0577680271652459, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3930-8454, e-mail: edemar.corazza@embrapa.br

• Daniel Ioshiteru Kinpara, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília/DF, Brazil. Lattes: https://lattes.cnpq.br/2425582075521677, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8949-397X, e-mail: daniel.kinpara@embrapa.br
• Maria Madalena Rinaldi, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília/DF, Brazil. Lattes: https://lattes.cnpq.br/7479651675526781, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7331-0374, e-mail: madalena.rinaldi@embrapa.br
• Mírian Josefina Baptista, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília/DF, Brazil. Lattes: https://lattes.cnpq.br/8101665912532762, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1704-3763, e-mail: mirian.baptista@embrapa.br
• Wyviane Carlos Lima Vidal, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília/DF, Brazil. Lattes: https://lattes.cnpq.br/0843695410438863, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0994-0117, e-mail: wyviane.vidal@embrapa.br

Chaired by the editor-in-chief, Edemar Joaquim Corazza, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília, Distrito Federal/DF, Brazil. Lattes: https://lattes.cnpq.br/0577680271652459, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3930-8454, e-mail: edemar.corazza@embrapa.br

• Alberto Cargnelutti Filho, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul/RS, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0233728865094243, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8608-9960, e-mail: alberto.cargnelutti.filho@gmail.com
• Alderi Emídio de Araújo, Embrapa Algodão, Campina Grande, Paraíba/PB, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/3283020832500600, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0257-1539, e-mail: alderi.araujo@embrapa.br
• Alfredo Kingo Oyama Homma, Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA), Belém, Pará/PA, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/1026511676619526, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0330-9858, e-mail: alfredo.homma@gmail.com
• Célia Regina Grego, Embrapa Agricultura Digital, Campinas, São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/8030714336942046, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5603-2736, e-mail: celia.grego@embrapa.br
• Cláudio Lopes de Souza Junior, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/8401562644993472, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4657-0397, e-mail: clsouza@usp.br
• Clinton Cleon Shock, Oregon State University, Corvallis/OR, United States. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9911-7345, e-mail: clinton.shock@oregonstate.edu
• Cosme Damião Cruz, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais/MG, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2608560883389574, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-3391, e-mail: cdcruz@ufv.br
• Débora Machado Fracalossi, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina/SC, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2546845381232555, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2575-9027, e-mail: debora.fracalossi@ufsc.br
• Denise Cybis Fontana, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul/RS, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0938505876010695, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2635-6086, e-mail: dfontana@ufrgs.br
• Geraldo Arraes Maia, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Ceará/CE, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0191955350814375, e-mail: gmaia@secrel.com.br
• Gilmar Paulo Henz, Embrapa Sede, Brasília, Distrito Federal/DF, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2634712143858732, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7832-7757, e-mail: gilmar.henz@embrapa.br
• Jorge Jacob Neto, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Seropédica, rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/6508017274417976, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6115-8218, e-mail: jacob@ufrrj.br
• Luís Gustavo Barioni, Embrapa Agricultura Digital, Campinas, São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/4322146870938825, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1716-1428, e-mail: luis.barioni@embrapa.br
• Maria Alice de Medeiros, Embrapa Sede, Brasília, Distrito Federal/DF, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/3713314577907807, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8478-5758, e-mail: maria.alice@embrapa.br
• Michel Brossard, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Marseille, France. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8307-0439, e-mail: Michel.Brossard@ird.fr
• Nereu Augusto Streck, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul/RS, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/8121082379157248, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1759-6843, e-mail: nstreck2@yahoo.com.br
• Robert Michael Boddey, Embrapa Agrobiologia, Brasília, Distrito Federal/DF, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0277415539607307, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3648-9859, e-mail: robert.boddey@embrapa.br
• Sílvia Regina Galleti Queiroz, Instituto Biológico, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/1652874165339954, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0745-5716, e-mail: silvia.galleti@sp.gov.br
• Valéria Pacheco Batista Euclides, Embrapa Gado de Corte, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul/MS, Brazil. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/0383746151100984, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-482X, e-mail: valeria.pacheco@embrapa.br

• Dani Leonor Antunes Corrêa, Copyeditor, e-mail: dani.correa@embrapa.br
• Graciela Olivella Oliveira, Collaborating Librarian, e-mail: graciela.oliveira@embrapa.br
• Júlio César da Silva Delfino, Desktop Publisher, e-mail: julio.delfino@embrapa.br
• Micla Cardoso de Souza, Copyeditor and Translator, e-mail: micla.souza@embrapa.br
• Rafael Sales de Sousa, Copyeditor, e-mail: rafael.sousa@embrapa.br
• Sabrina Déde de Castro Leite Degaut Pontes, Standards Editor/Librarian, e-mail: sabrina.dede@embrapa.br

Original articles, scientific notes, and reviews are accepted – the latter only by invitation of the editor-in-chief. The language for submission and publication is English.

Submissions of preprints deposited previously or simultaneously in reliable servers are permitted, as they are not considered prior publication.

Works whose content has been published in proceedings of scientific events (abstracts or expanded abstracts) or that are part of academic monographs, theses, and dissertations are also accepted.

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira adopts the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CREDiT) to promote transparency regarding each author’s role in the preparation of the manuscript.

During submission in the ScholarOne electronic system (specifically in Step 4), the corresponding author must inform the contributions of each co-author, as well as their own. These must be selected from the 14 options available in the system: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, and Writing – review & editing.

Please note: An author/co-author may hold multiple roles and/or share the same role with others.

The description of the contributions will be published at the end of the accepted published article, according to the model below:

Author contributions

Full name of first author: conceptualization, methodology, investigation; Full name of second author: formal analysis, software, writing – review & editing; Full name of last author: funding acquisition, supervision

The journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) accepts the following types of contribution:

Original article: 
Complete scientific research containing: Title (English and Portuguese), Abstract/Resumo, Index terms/Termos para indexação, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, References, and Tables and Figures.

Tip: PAB provides a template for original articles, which can be adapted for the other types of contribution.

Scientific note: 
Concise communication of original and relevant data, but with insufficient volume for a full article. The text is continuous (without section divisions), covering Introduction to Conclusion. As the original article, it must contain: Title (English and Portuguese), Abstract/Resumo, Index terms/Termos para indexação, References, and Tables and Figures.

Review article (by invitation of the editor-in-chief):
Review articles must synthesize, in a non-exhaustive manner, the state of the art of the topic under consideration, addressing consolidated literature (mainly scientific articles). However, they should not be limited to a mere description of existing knowledge.

They are expected to introduce new perspectives or concepts not yet addressed in the literature – or not explored in the same level of detail –, showing the evolution of knowledge in the field. For this purpose, they must present the authors’ critical and analytical contributions by discussing gaps, bottlenecks, viable solutions, and directions for future research.

Review articles may contain free subheadings in the body of the text. They must contain: Title (English and Portuguese), Abstract/Resumo, Index terms/Termos para indexação, Introduction, Final Considerations, References, and Tables and Figures.

Authors must mandatorily have a solid academic background, research experience, and recognized knowledge in the study area, proven by their publication record.

Please note: Reviews derived from postgraduate capstone projects will not be accepted.

File: Microsoft Word, A4 paper size, 2.5 cm margins.
Font: Times New Roman, size 12, double-spaced.
Line/Page numbering: Mandatory on all pages and lines.
Page limits (including tables and figures):

• Original article: up to 25 pages
• Scientific note: up to 10 pages
• Review article: up to 40 pages

Manuscript Layout Guide

Title
Length: Maximum of 15 words.
Content: Must be clear and represent the content and objective of the work. 
Restrictions: Avoid starting with “Effect of” or “Influence of”. Do not use abbreviations, formulas, symbols, or scientific names (except for lesser-known species).
Please note: The words in the title should facilitate article retrieval by databases indexing literature.

Authorship and Affiliation (double-blind or single-blind review)
Author metadata (identification, institutional affiliation, ORCID, and e-mail) must be entered exclusively in the fields of the submission system – including in the case of preprints – and omitted from the initial manuscript. To preserve the integrity of peer review, these metadata will be added to the text only after final approval.

Preprints will undergo single-blind evaluation, and the other manuscripts, the traditional double-blind model.

Abstract/Resumo and Index Terms/Termos para indexação

Abstract/Resumo: A single paragraph of up to 200 words. It must clearly state objective, methodology, results, and conclusion (the latter with verbs in the simple present). Do not use citations or abbreviations.

Index terms/Termos para indexação: 3 to 6 terms in alphabetical order (based on English), separated by commas. Scientific names (binomial nomenclature) must begin the list.

Please note: PAB recommends using the terms contained in AGROVOC. Do not repeat words already present in the title.

Introduction
Must be brief, justifying the purpose and importance of the work, indicating the relevance of the scientific problem to be solved and its connections with other published research. It must conclude with the objective of the study (the same one used to start the Abstract).

Materials and Methods
Should preferably be structured in chronological order. Subheadings may be used to improve text organization.

It must provide sufficient description of the research to allow other researchers to replicate the study. The following information must be included: location with geographic coordinates, date, design, treatments, variables, number of replicates, experimental unit size, statistical methods, and data transformation.

In the case of biological sequences, nucleotide/amino acid data must be deposited in GenBank, ENA – European Nucleotide Archive, or DDBJ. The accession number is mandatory for publication.

For research involving humans or animals, it is necessary to provide the name of the ethics committee and the protocol/approval number.

Attention: The approval certificate must uploaded to the submission system. In the absence of evaluation by an ethics committee, the authors must attach a reasoned statement – Statement for Animal Research or Statement for Human Research – justifying the exemption under current legislation.

Results and Discussion
May be presented together (preferably) or separately. Should focus on the obtained data, discussing and comparing them with the literature, mainly from the last 10 years.

Authors must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Data consistency: Only analyze the data presented in the text. All data illustrated in tables or figures must be discussed.
• Exclusivity of formats: Do not present the same data simultaneously in tables and figures.
• Tables and figures: Tables and figures must be cited sequentially. Do not repeat data in the main body of the text; instead, focus on discussing the results in light of the literature. Insert the callout for the table or figure at the end of the first sentence that mentions it. If subsequent sentences in the same paragraph continue to refer to the same table or figure, there is no need for a new callout.
• Scientific support: Do not make statements or conjectures that cannot be supported by the data obtained in the research or by the cited literature.
• Comparison with the literature: New findings must be confronted with existing scientific knowledge.

Conclusions 
Short and numbered sentences (up to 5), based strictly on the presented results, without additional comments. If there is only one conclusion, use a single paragraph.

They must present the new findings of the research and not a summary of the results. The present indicative tense must be used.

Citations and References
PAB adopts NBR 10520 (citations) and NBR 6023 (references) standards from Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT), with adaptations.

Citation profile:

• All citations must be from original references; that is, indirect citations such as apud or cited by are not accepted.
• Each citation must correspond to a reference and vice versa.

In-text citation examples:

1 author: Souza Neto (2022) or (Souza Neto, 2022)
2 authors: Silva & Costa (2019) or (Silva & Costa, 2019)
3 or more authors: Santos et al. (2023) or (Santos et al., 2023)

Restrictions: Citations of abstracts, personal communications, or in-press documents are not accepted. Citation of preprints is allowed only under exceptional circumstances, when essential to substantiate the work (supplementary data).

Reference profile:

• Maximum of 40 references, written in the official language of publication. Exception: When the language uses a non-Latin alphabet or writing system.
• At least 70% must be from journal articles published in the last 10 years to ensure the currency of the scientific debate.
• Must include the names of all authors.

Reference examples:

Article: 
ROSSETIM, M.F.T.; MOTTA, A.C.V.; KONDO, Y.R.; RUTHES, B.E.S.; HUNGRIA, M.; SALLES, J.F.; KASCHUK, G. Enhancing soybean yield through inoculation of multifunctional microbial consortia. International Journal of Agronomy, v.2025, art.9491715, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/ioa/9491715.

Conference paper (only full papers are accepted): 
SILVA, M.V.G.B.; VERARDO, L.L.; MACHADO, M.A.; PANETTO, J.C.C.; CAROLINO, I.; CAROLINO, N. Candidate genes for disease, reproduction and meat quality traits in Portuguese native breeds. In: WORLD CONGRESS ON GENETICS APPLIED TO LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION, 12., 2022, Rotterdam. Proceedings. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic, 2022. p.960-963. Edited by R.F. Veerkamp and y. de Haas. Available at: https://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/bitstream/doc/1150087/1/Candidate-genes-for-disease-reproduction.pdf. Accessed on: Mar. 25 2026.

Book chapter: 
SHAHZAD, A.; PARVEEN, S.; SHARMA, S.; SHAHEEN, A.; SAEED, T.; YADAV, V.; AKHTAR, R.; AHMAD, Z.; UPADHYAY, A. Plant tissue culture: applications in plant improvement and conservation. In: ABDIN, M.Z.; KIRAN, U.; KAMALUDDIN; ALI, A. (Ed.). Plant biotechnology: principles and applications. Singapore: Springer, 2017. p.37-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2961-5_2.

Book: 
SANTOS, H.G. dos; JACOMINE, P.K.T.; ANJOS, L.H.C. dos; OLIVEIRA, V.Á. de; LUMBRERAS, J.F.; COELHO, M.R.; ALMEIDA, J.A. de; ARAÚJO FILHO, J.C. de; LIMA, H.N.; MARQUES, F.A.; OLIVEIRA, J.B. de; CUNHA, T.J.F. Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos. 6.ed. rev. e ampl. Brasília: Embrapa, 2025. 393p.

Electronic source: 
AGRITEMPO: Sistema de Monitoramento Agrometeorológico. Available at: https://www.agritempo.gov.br/br/. Accessed on: Mar. 25 2026.

Thesis / Dissertation:
FERREIRA, N. dos S. Biotransformação do arsênio inorgânico (As-i) em Tilápias do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) e avaliação de seu antagonismo na presença de selênio. 2024. 111p. Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, São José do Rio Preto. Available at: https://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/bitstream/doc/1171598/1/BiotransformacaoArsenioInorganico.pdf. Accessed on: Mar. 25 2026.

Research data: 
LAST NAME, INITIALS. Title [dataset]. Name of repository, year (or version with year). DOI: https://doi.org/...

LAST NAME, INITIALS. Title [dataset]. Name of repository, version/year. Available at: <https://fulladdress>. Accessed on: month (abbreviated when possible) day year.

Legislation:
BRASIL. Lei nº 12.651, de 25 de maio de 2012. Dispõe sobre a proteção da vegetação nativa; altera as Leis nºs 6.938, de 31 de agosto de 1981, 9.393, de 19 de dezembro de 1996, e 11.428, de 22 de dezembro de 2006; revoga as Leis nºs 4.771, de 15 de setembro de 1965, e 7.754, de 14 de abril de 1989, e a Medida Provisória nº 2.166-67, de 24 de agosto de 2001; e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União, 28 maio 2012. Seção1, p.1-8.

SÃO PAULO (Estado). Decreto nº 42.822, de 20 de janeiro de 1998. Lex: coletânea de legislação e jurisprudência, v.62, p.217-220, 1998.

Please note: PAB recommends the use of Mendeley and Endnote (“How to cite this article” on the Embrapa and SciELO websites) to export references according to the journal’s standards.

Formulas and Equations
Must be inserted using the Word Equation Editor, left-aligned, in size 12, Times New Roman.

Tables
Must be self-explanatory, sequentially numbered with Arabic numerals, and cited in the body of the text. Should be created in Microsoft Word (using the tool “Insert Table”), single-spaced, without vertical lines or cell shading. The title must be placed above the table, and footnotes and bibliographical sources immediately below it.

Authors must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Title: Must be preceded by the word Table followed by a period (both in bold). It must be clear, concise, and complete, including the dependent variables and the species name (common and scientific binomial).
• Header: Variable names (representing the content of each column) must be written out in full. If space is limited, use abbreviations and explain them in the title or in a footnote.
• Units of measurement: Use the International System of Units (SI).
• Alignment: Align numerical values in columns by the last digit.
• Empty cells: No cell (intersection of row and column) should be left blank. Missing data must be indicated by a hyphen (-), accompanied by an explanation in a footnote.
• Lines: Use horizontal lines to delimit the header (above and below) and to close the bottom of the table. If necessary, internal horizontal lines may be used in the header or body. The use of vertical lines is prohibited.
• Source notes: Indicate the origin of the data in the table and include the respective source in the References.
• Footnote callouts: Use to define specific data. They must be indicated by superscript Arabic numerals in parentheses, inserted to the right of the term or number. In the footer, they must be presented continuously (on the same line), separated by periods.
• Comparison of means: Use letters (uppercase or lowercase) to the right of the data. Indicate the statistical test and probability level in the footnote.
• Statistical significance: Use superscripts to the right of the data: ns (not significant), * (significant at 5%), and ** (significant at 1% probability).

Submission: Include tables after the references in the main body of the manuscript.

Tip: The original article template includes a table sample.

Figures 
Graphs, drawings, maps, and photographs should be used only when essential for data comprehension and documentation of the described facts.

Authors must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Title: Must be preceded by the word Figure followed by a period (both in bold). It must be clear, concise, and complete, including variables and the species name (common and scientific binomial).
• Legend (adopted key): Must be inserted in the body of the figure, integrated into the title, or positioned between both.
• Authorship and sources: For non-original figures, the source must be indicated immediately after the title and included in the References. Credit must be given to the author of photographs, drawings, or graphs that required creative effort.
• Axes (X and Y): Axis variables must begin with a capital letter, followed by their respective units of measurement in parentheses. Example: Time (s).
• Scales: Numbers representing magnitudes and their corresponding tick marks must remain outside the graph area.
• Curves and markers: Identify curves directly within the graph area, avoiding visual clutter. Use contrasting markers at data points on curves (filled or open circles, squares, triangles, or diamonds).
• Typography: Use Times New Roman font, and standardize text size and units across all figures.
• Dimensions: Figures must have a high reproduction quality and measure 8.5 cm or 17.5 cm in width.
• Colors: The use of colors is permitted.
• Images and photographs: Must exhibit a high visual quality, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, and be submitted in .TIF format.
• Graphs: Graphs and diagrams must be created using software and formats (file extensions) that allow editing in CorelDraw (the software used by PAB for layout editing). They must be uploaded to the submission system in their original formats.
• Graphs generated in Microsoft Excel: Submit the original Excel file (.xlsx), containing both data and corresponding graphs.
• Graphs generated in other software (e.g., SigmaPlot, R, Origin): Export and save each graph individually in a format editable in CorelDraw. Generally accepted formats include: Enhanced Metafile (.emf), Windows Metafile (.wmf), or PDF vector.

Please note: Authors are solely responsible for obtaining permission for any copyrighted image (photos, figures, or illustrations). The completed and signed Copyright Transfer Form must be sent with the final article proof.

Submission: In the submission system, upload each figure as an individual file (“Supplemental file not for review”) according to platform instructions. In the main body of the manuscript, include figures after tables.

Tip: The original article template includes a figure sample.

Funding and Acknowledgments

In the Cover Letter for Manuscript Submission, complete the fields below according to the guidelines:

• Funding: List all funding sources in full, accompanied by the acronym and the grant/project number, detailing the reason for the received support.
• Acknowledgments: List the names of individuals who contributed to the work (through technical help, data collection, or written assistance) without meeting authorship criteria, followed by the reason for the acknowledgment. Prior permission must be obtained from everyone cited.

Please note: This information must not be included in the manuscript.

Article Submission Format

List of mandatory items
The manuscripts submitted to the PAB journal must include the following items, in this order:

• Title in English, Abstract, and Index terms.
• Title in Portuguese, Resumo, and Termos para indexação (following the alphabetical order of the English version).

Please note: Author metadata (identification, institutional affiliation, ORCID, and e-mail) must be entered exclusively into the submission system fields – including for preprints – and omitted from the initial manuscript. To ensure the integrity of the peer-review process, this information will be added to the text only after final approval. Preprints will undergo single-blind evaluation, while other manuscripts will follow the traditional double-blind model.

• Main text: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, References, and Tables and Figures. Exceptions apply to scientific notes, which consist of a continuous text, and reviews, which may use flexible section headings.

Observation: Complementary information declared in the Cover Letter for Manuscript Submission (such as author contributions, data availability, AI use, conflicts of interest, funding sources, acknowledgments, and disclaimer/publisher’s note) will be included by the PAB editorial team after the manuscript is accepted.

Upon publication, all articles will be assigned a DOI registration to ensure their permanent indexing.

Template for manuscript submission 
Prior to submission, authors must consult the standard template provided by PAB to adjust the formatting and structure of their manuscript.

Tip: This template also can be used as a baseline for scientific notes and reviews. The key differences are the use of continuous text in scientific notes and flexible headings in reviews.

Pre-submission manuscript checklist 
Before starting the submission process, review the Pre-submission checklist for the Journal Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira to ensure no normative requirements have been overlooked.

Attention: Non-compliant manuscripts will be returned for corrections.

Step-by-step guide for submission in ScholarOne
After preparing your manuscript according to the provided template and reviewing the checklist, access the ScholarOne Manuscripts – PAB submission system and log in. If this is your first visit, create an account using your ORCID iD.

To begin submitting your manuscript, click on “Author”, then on “Start new submission”, next select “Begin submission” and follow the steps below:

1. Step 1: Type, Title, & Abstract: Select the article type, and enter the title and abstract into the designated fields.
2. Step 2: File upload: Upload the main manuscript file (without author identification or affiliations) and supplementary files not intended for review (such as original source files in which each figure was created, Cover Letter for Manuscript Submission, and ethics statements for animal or human research).
3. Step 3: Attributes: Add the manuscript’s field of knowledge and index terms (keywords).
4. Step 4: Authors & Institutions: Before adding co-authors, search by e-mail to avoid duplicates. In the form, register full names, addresses, and institutional e-mails, and specify each author’s contribution according to the CRediT taxonomy (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing).
5. Step 5: Reviewers: Suggest at least three potential reviewers (holding PhDs) with expertise in the subject, providing their names, e-mails, and institutions. Do not suggest direct collaborators or colleagues from the same institution as the authors.
6. Step 6: Details & Comments: Fill in the field regarding funders and click on the items starting with “Confirm the following”.
7. Step 7: Review & Submit: Check if any step remains incomplete. Then, review the generated PDF by clicking “View Proof”. Ensure all figures and tables are legible. Click “Submit” to end the process

Mandatory documentation

At the time of submission, authors must complete and attach the Cover Letter for Manuscript Submission, declaring the following information:

• Manuscript originality and novelty: Declare that the manuscript is original, unpublished, and has not been submitted simultaneously to any other journal, in whole or in part.
• Preprint status: If the manuscript has been made available as a preprint, specify the repository name, along with the corresponding DOI and CC-BY license.
• Conflicts of interest: If conflicts of interest exist, describe any relationships (academic, commercial, financial, personal, political) that may have influenced the preparation or evaluation of the manuscript.
• Data availability: Select the option that best describes access to research data. If public, indicate whether the data are included in the manuscript, supplementary materials, or repositories (specifying the name, URL, DOI, or identifiers). If restrictions apply (e.g., protecting participant privacy), declare that data are available only upon reasonable request to the corresponding author or responsible institution, clearly stating the reason.
• Funding: List all funding sources in full, accompanied by the acronym and the grant/project number, detailing the reason for the received support.
• Acknowledgments: List the names of individuals who contributed to the work (through technical help, data collection, or written assistance) without meeting authorship criteria, followed by the reason for acknowledgment. Prior permission must be obtained from everyone cited.
• Use of software and Artificial Intelligence tools: If employed, specify the name and version of the tool and the purpose of its use.
• Please note: Software and AI tools should be used solely as linguistic or methodological support.
• Importance of the study to the field: Write a brief paragraph highlighting why the study is important, what gap it fills in the literature, and how it aligns with PAB’s scope. Describe the main scientific findings and their direct impact/practical applications in agricultural research or agronomic practices, or list its main highlights.

Submission: The Cover Letter for Manuscript Submission must be converted to PDF and uploaded to the submission system (in Step 2) as “Supplementary material not for review”.

For assistance, contact pab@embrapa.br.

Disclaimer/Publisher’s note

The statements, opinions, and data contained in all texts published in Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (PAB) are solely those of the individual author(s) and not of the journal’s publisher, editor, and editorial team, who disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any referred ideas, methods, instructions, or products. The mention of specific chemical products, machines, and commercial equipment in the texts published in this journal does not imply their recommendation by the publisher.

Omitted or exceptional cases

When necessary, any cases not covered by these guidelines shall be resolved by the editor-in-chief, whose decision shall be final, with or without consultation with the editorial committee.

Metrics

PAB journal metrics can be accessed on the SciELO Analytics website