The Kirkuk University Journal for Agricultural Sciences (KUJAS) is an international, peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of Kirkuk. The journal publishes original research articles that contribute significantly to the advancement of agricultural sciences.

The scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to, the following fields:

• Crop Science
• Soil Science and Land Resources
• Horticulture and Forestry
• Animal Production
• Agricultural Economics and Extension
• Food Science and Technology
• Plant Protection and Biotechnology
• Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture

KUJAS publishes manuscripts exclusively in English starting since 2023.

• All submissions must be written in clear, grammatically correct English.
• Authors whose native language is not English are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts professionally proofread prior to submission.
• An Arabic abstract is required in addition to the English abstract, in accordance with national academic publishing regulations.

The journal considers the following types of submissions:

• Original Research Articles
• Review Articles (by invitation or with prior approval from the Editor-in-Chief)

Short communications, case reports, and opinion papers are not considered.

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal website.

The submitted manuscript should not have been:

• Published previously.
• Under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors have approved the final version and agree to its submission to KUJAS.

Authors may request withdrawal of a submitted manuscript by sending a written request to the editorial office. The request must be submitted by the corresponding author and must include the manuscript title, submission ID, reason for withdrawal, and confirmation that all authors agree to the withdrawal.

Withdrawal after peer review, acceptance, or production may be subject to editorial assessment, especially if substantial editorial and reviewer resources have already been used.

Before peer review, all submissions are checked by the editorial office for technical compliance. This screening does not evaluate the scientific quality of the manuscript; it verifies whether the submission meets the minimum editorial requirements of KUJAS.

Manuscripts may be returned to authors before peer review if one or more of the following items are missing or incomplete:

• Manuscript prepared according to the KUJAS template.
• Title, authors’ names, affiliations, and corresponding author details are complete.
• English abstract and Arabic abstract are provided as required.
• Keywords are included.
• All tables and figures are cited in the text and presented clearly.
• References are formatted according to KUJAS requirements and include DOI links where available.
• Ethical approval statement is provided when the study involves animals or human participants.
• Data Availability Statement is included.
• Conflict of Interest statement is included.
• Funding statement is included.
• Similarity report concerns, if any, are acceptable for editorial assessment.

KUJAS follows a double-blind peer review process to ensure objectivity and academic integrity.

• Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise.
• The identities of authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review process.

Based on reviewers’ recommendations, the editorial decision may be:

• Accept
• Minor revision
• Major revision
• Reject

The average review period is 6–8 weeks, depending on the responsiveness of reviewers and authors.

• Manuscripts should be prepared using Microsoft Word.
• Font: Times New Roman, size 12
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Pages should be numbered consecutively.

Manuscripts should be organized in the following order:

1. Title
2. Authors’ names and affiliations
3. Abstract (250-300 words) (English)
4. Keywords (5–7)
5. Introduction
6. Materials and Methods
7. Results
8. Discussion
9. Conclusion (if applicable)
10. Acknowledgments
11. References

• The English abstract should not exceed 250-300 words.
• It must clearly state:

• The purpose of the study
• Methodology
• Key results
• Main conclusions

• Authors must provide 5–7 keywords that are not already included in the title.

An Arabic abstract should be provided on a separate page.

• References must follow the APA citation style.
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.
• Where available, DOIs must be included at the end of each reference.

Example:

Author(s). (Year). Title of the article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

KUJAS adheres to the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

• All submissions are screened for plagiarism.
• Manuscripts with significant similarity to previously published work will be rejected.

• Authorship should reflect significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study.
• Any changes to authorship after submission must be approved by all authors and the Editor-in-Chief.

Author Contributions

KUJAS requires authors to describe the individual contribution of each author. The contribution statement should be included before the References section or in a separate declaration section.

Authors may use the CRediT taxonomy where applicable, including:

• Conceptualization
• Methodology
• Software
• Validation
• Formal Analysis
• Investigation
• Resources
• Data Curation
• Writing – Original Draft
• Writing – Review and Editing
• Visualization
• Supervision
• Project Administration
• Funding Acquisition

All listed authors must have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the work and must approve the submitted and final versions of the manuscript.

Changes in Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be submitted in writing to the editorial office. The request must include a clear explanation for the change and written approval from all authors, including any author being added or removed.

KUJAS does not allow authorship changes after acceptance unless there is a strong and documented reason. The Editor-in-Chief has the final authority to approve or reject authorship change requests.

Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation.

Conflict of Interest Declaration

All authors must disclose any financial, personal, institutional, or professional relationships that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the research, interpretation of results, or editorial handling of the manuscript.

If there is no conflict of interest, authors must include the following statement:

If a conflict exists, authors must describe its nature clearly in the manuscript. Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in rejection, correction, or retraction, depending on the stage at which the issue is identified.

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article. The funding statement should include the name of the funding agency, grant number, and the role of the funder, if any.

If the research received no external funding, authors must include the following statement:

If the funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or publication decision, this should be clearly stated.

For studies involving animals or human participants:

• Authors must state that the research was conducted in accordance with relevant ethical standards.
• Approval from an appropriate ethics committee must be clearly indicated.

• KUJAS provides open access to its published content.
• Articles are published under the journal’s open-access policy, allowing free and unrestricted access for research and educational purposes.

• Authors retain copyright of their work.

All articles published in KUJAS are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure permanent accessibility and citation.

After acceptance, the manuscript enters the production stage. This may include copyediting, formatting according to the KUJAS template, author proof review, final PDF preparation, DOI registration, and online publication.

Authors are responsible for checking the final proof carefully. Only minor corrections related to typographical errors, author information, formatting, and production mistakes are allowed at proof stage. Major scientific changes are not permitted after acceptance unless requested by the editorial office.

The article is published online after completion of production requirements and payment of the applicable APC.

The Kirkuk University Journal for Agricultural Sciences (KUJAS) acknowledges the growing use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in scholarly publishing. This policy ensures transparency, accountability, and research integrity.

• Authors may use GenAI tools for language editing or formatting assistance only.
• GenAI tools must not be listed as authors.
• Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work.
• Any use of GenAI must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript.

• GenAI must not be used to generate scientific data, results, or conclusions without proper validation.
• Any form of fabrication or manipulation using AI tools is prohibited.

• Reviewers must not upload manuscripts to AI tools.
• Editors may use AI tools for support but must ensure decisions are independent.
• Non-compliance may result in rejection or retraction.

The views expressed in published articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or the University of Kirkuk.