1. The Nigerian Journal of Crop Improvement will publish original research papers and review articles in all areas of crop improvement, genetics and agronomy. Original research papers should report the results of original research and should not have been previously published in any journal or as part of a book. Review Articles will ordinarily be solicited and commissioned by the Editor-in-Chief, but synopses for review articles may also be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief.

2. The manuscript should have the following: Title, Abstract (on a separate page, not more than 250 words), Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion and References.

Title Page
The Title page should bear the title, names of authors and their affiliations (where the research was carried out, including the name of the country). The title should be clear and concise, usually not exceeding 20 words. Full names of authors are required, with surname or family name coming last. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. The corresponding author should be indicated with an asterisk after the name of the author and footnoted, with the email for correspondence provided. If an author has moved since the research reported in the manuscript was carried out, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually carried out the research must be retained as the main affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are to be used for such footnotes.

Abstract
The abstract is to come after the title page and should not exceed 250 words. It should provide a context for the research, briefly indicate the methodology and provide concise information on the results and conclusions. References are not to be included in the Abstract. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential, they must be defined at their first mention in the Abstract itself. The only additional information allowed on the Abstract page are the Key Words, which should not be more than five.

Introduction
The Introduction should be free-flowing (unsectioned), provide an adequate background to the study and state the objectives. The Introduction is not a literature review and should not contain the results of the study.

Materials and Methods
This section should provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by another researcher. Methods that are already published should be summarized and referenced. If quoting directly from a previously published method, quotation marks should be used and the source appropriately cited. Any modifications to existing methods should be described. The Materials and Methods may be in sections, with each section having a heading. Each heading should be on a separate line. Permission must be obtained for the use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet).

Results
The presentation of the results should be clear and concise, aided by information provided in appropriately numbered tables and figures. Tables and figures should be placed after their first mention in the Results section. As with the Materials and Methods, the Results section may be in sections. Tables should be numbered as 1, 2, etc, same for figures. The caption for a table should be at the heading, while the caption for a figure should be below the figures. Each figure should bear its legend.

Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. The Discussion section should be free-flowing and not have sections with headings. Paragraphs should be used to address different issues. In some cases, a combined Results and Discussion section may be appropriate. Extensive citations and discussion of published work should be avoided.

Conclusions
A conclusion section is recommended. This may stand alone with a heading after the Discussion or it may be presented in the last paragraph of the Discussion or Results and Discussion section.

References
References in text should be in the format Adams (1982) for single-authored articles, Adams and Banjo (2004) for articles with two authors, and Njoku et al. (2022) for articles with more than two authors. In the reference list, names of all authors must be written out in full; Surnames are to be written first for all authors, followed by their initials. For example, Audu, G.B., Fadupin, T.A and Chukwuka, S.N. No et al. is allowed in the reference list. Cited references in the list of references must be arranged alphabetically, and for multiple articles published by the same first authors, a chronological order is to be followed, starting with the earlier/earliest publication. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be followed by the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication in both the text and reference list. Authors are to ensure that all literature cited are in the reference list and all references listed were referred to in the text. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text.

Appendices
Appendices that are absolutely necessary will only appear after the Reference section at the end of each article and only in the online version of the journal. If there is more than one appendix, they should be numbered as 1, 2, etc.

Funding of Research
Grants for research are required to be indicated in the Acknowledgement Section.

Declaration of Competing Interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could have inappropriately influenced (biased) information provided in their manuscripts. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony and patent applications/registrations.

Change to List of Authors
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any request approved by the Editor will be made as a corrigendum.

Preparation of Manuscript
Manuscripts are to be prepared and submitted in Microsoft Word format with Font 12. Manuscripts should be paged, with page numbers centralized at the bottom of each page.

Submission, Processing and Decision on Manuscripts
Manuscripts must have been 'spell- and -grammar checked' before submission. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter. All manuscripts will undergo rigorous peer review by a minimum of two expert reviewers, who will assess the paper's scientific quality and provide their advice to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor-in-Chief's decision is final. Manuscripts, which in the opinion of the Editor-in-Chief do not meet the standard of the Nigerian Journal of Crop Improvement, will be returned without subjecting them to the journal’s review process.

Article Processing Charge (APC) Manuscripts accepted for publication will attract a publication charge of N50, 000 /$50.00 per article, which must be paid before the article is published. The Bank Account details for payment will be indicated in the manuscript acceptance letter.