Editorial (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI 10.1002/ps.3935
A Growth Year for Pest Management Science
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Pest Manag Sci 2015; 71: 1–2
65 60 55 50 45 40 1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
Impact factor
Figure 1. Impact factors of Pest Management Science for particular years (2006-2013) plotted against the rejection rate of the previous year.
• The grammar would require a major revision to correct. • There is no or inadequate statistical analysis of the data. • Significant amounts of text are taken verbatim from other publications (identified by iThenticate® software). I do not want to be discouraging, but authors should carefully consider these criteria before submitting papers to our journal. Several years ago we established an objective of having at least three high-quality “front matter” articles (reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and spotlights) per issue. In 2014, we met this goal for the first time, with 3.5 such papers per issue, up from 2.3 front matter articles per issue in 2013. The special issues on herbicide resistance (September, 2014), based on the Global Herbicide Resistance Challenge Conference (Perth, Australia; February, 2013), and whiteflies (October, 2014), partially based on the First International Whitefly Symposium (Kolympari, Crete, Greece; May, 2013) helped us to surpass our goal. I thank Stephen Powles for helping with the weed resistance issue as a guest editor. Thanks are also due to Ralf Nauen, Isaac Ishaaya and Murad Ghanim who edited the whitefly issue. In the past, I have cited all of the reviews and perspectives in my annual editorial, but there are just too many this year. Please browse our table of contents, and you will find these papers as front matter articles dealing with many timely topics such as various aspects of herbicide-resistant crops and weeds7 – 9 , natural products in pesticide discovery10 , pesticide hormesis,11,12 , climate change effects on biocontrol13 , fungicide resistance14 , EU pesticide policies effects on agriculture15 , and natural enemy-mediated interactions among prey species and effects on arthropod biocontrol16 . We look forward to two special issues in 2015. The first will be an issue dedicated our previous Editor-in-Chief, Gerald Brooks. The papers in this issue are on work inspired or related to Gerry’s many seminal research accomplishments. The second will be an issue on pollinators and pesticides, in large part based on a symposium on
www.soci.org
© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
1
The question addressed is of little scientific significance. The work has been published in whole or in part elsewhere. The paper is of limited geographical importance or interest. The paper has a questionable relationship to the management of pests. The paper is on products of uncertain chemical composition (e.g. crude extracts, formulations with incomplete chemical descriptions) or unknown or unclear active ingredients. The paper is only an efficacy comparison of commercial products. The paper is preliminary (e.g., minimal data). The paper is too similar to another or others by the same or different authors.
70
Rejection rate (%)
We have again had a prosperous year (2014) for the journal. Our impact factor increased to 2.743 (for 2013), an all time high, and the number of papers submitted will be about 800 for 2014, also a new record. This puts Pest Management Science into a close second place for impact factor among the top journals dealing with pest management. Kudos to the authors of the five most cited Pest Management Science papers of 20131 – 5 , and I congratulate Chris Bass and Linda Field for their paper on gene amplification and insecticide resistance, which was out most cited paper in 2013 from any year.6 The composition of the Editorial Board (EB) changed slightly. Jack Plimmer, Colin Walker, and Don Wauchope retired from the EB. They all served as Associate Editors (AE). Don Wauchope also served as the Americas Editor when the organization of the EB was to some extent arranged geographically, and more recently as an Executive Editor (EE). We thank them all for donating large amounts of their precious time and scientific expertise to our journal. Each of them served our journal well for many years. We welcomed Peter Baur, Nicolas Desneux, Peter Jeschke, Thomas Sparks, Thomas Van Leeuwen, Jinjun Wang, Yidong Wu, and Xinling Yang to the EB as AEs. Keith Solomon replaced Don Wauchope as an EE. As I mentioned in last year’s editorial, the number of pages that we can print stays about the same, so, to avoid backlogs of papers waiting to be printed, our rejection rate has necessarily had to increase with increasing submissions. I might add that we still publish about twice as many papers per year as the only pest management-related journal with a higher impact factor. Our rejection rate for 2014 is currently at its highest level ever (70%), rising from 45% in 2005. As I speculated last year, the more selective acceptance of papers has probably contributed to our rising impact factor. This speculation is supported by plotting the rejection rates of all years from 2005 to 2012 versus the impact factor for following years (2006-2013) (Fig 1). Correlations do not prove causal relationships, but this plot shows a generally positive relationship between these metrics for the past eight years. Because of the growing influx of papers, we are rejecting a significant fraction of submitted papers without review in order to reduce EB member and reviewer burnout. I want to repeat and add to the criteria that we consider reasons for rejection without review:
www.soci.org this topic from the 13th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry (San Francisco, California, USA; August, 2014) and the International Symposium on Hazards of Pesticides to Bees (Ghent, Belgium; September, 2014). In closing, I thank the many reviewers and members of the EB who have contributed their expertise, judgment, and valuable time. With their help and that of the pest management community, I hope that we can successfully continue the improvement of the journal in 2015. Stephen O. Duke Editor-in-Chief Oxford, Mississippi
REFERENCES 1 Fonseca DM, Unlu I, Crepeau T, Farajollah A, Healy SP, Bartlett-Healy K, et al, Area-wide management of Aedes albopictus. Part 2: Gauging the efficacy of traditional integrated pest control measures against urban container mosquitoes. Pest Manag Res 69:1351-1361 (2013). 2 Jeanguenat A, The story of an new insecticidal chemistry class: the diamides. Pest Manag Sci 69:7-14 (2013). 3 Cools HJ and Fraaije BA, Update on mechanisms of azole resistance in Mycosphaerella graminicola and implications for future control. Pest Manag Sci 69:150-155 (2013). 4 Délye C, Unravelling the genetic bases fo non-target-site-based resistance (NTSR) to herbicides: a major challenge for weed science in the forthcoming decade. Pest Manag Sci 69:176-187 (2013).
Editorial
5 Paz A, Jareño D, Arroyo L, Viñuela J, Arroyo B, Mougeot F, et al. Avian predators as a biological control system of common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in north-western Spain: experimental set-up and preliminary results. Pest Manag Sci 69:444-450 (2013). 6 Bass C and Field LM, Gene amplification and insecticide resistance. Pest Manag Sci 67:886-890 (2011). 7 Sammons RD and Gaines TA, Glyphosate resistance: state of knowedge. Pest Manag Sci 70:1367-1377 (2014). 8 Green JM, Current state of herbicides in herbicide-resistant crops. Pest Manag Sci 70:1351-1357 (2014). 9 Heap I, Global perspective on herbicide-resistant weeds. Pest Manag Sci 70:1306-1315 (2014). 10 Gerwick BC and Sparks TC, Natural product for pest control: an analysis of their role, value and future. Pest Manag Sci 70:1169-1185 (2014). 11 Guedes RNC and Cutler GC, Insecticide-induced hormesis and arthropod pest management. Pest Manag Sci 70:690-697 (2014). 12 Belz RG and Duke SO, Herbicides and plant hormesis. Pest Manag Sci 70: 698-707 (2014). 13 Aguilar-Fenollosa E and Jacas JA, Can we forecast the effects of climate change on entomophageous biological control agents? Pest Manag Sci 70: 853-859 (2014). 14 Oliver RP, A reassessment of the risk of rust fungi developing resistance to fungicides. Pest Manag Sci 70:1641-1645 (2014). 15 Jess S, Kidea S, Moody A, Rennick G, Murchie AK and Cooke LR, European Union policy on pesticides: implications for agriculture in Ireland. Pest Manag Sci 70:1646-1654 (2014). 16 Chailleux A, Mohl EK, Alves MT, Messelink GJ and Desneux N, Natural enemy-mediated indirect interactions among prey species: potential for enhancing biocontrol services in agro-ecosystems. Pest Manag Sci 70:1769-1779 (2014).
2 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ps
© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
Pest Manag Sci 2015; 71: 1–2
A Growth Year for Pest Management Science
• • • • •
• • •
Pest Manag Sci 2015; 71: 1–2
65 60 55 50 45 40 1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
Impact factor
Figure 1. Impact factors of Pest Management Science for particular years (2006-2013) plotted against the rejection rate of the previous year.
• The grammar would require a major revision to correct. • There is no or inadequate statistical analysis of the data. • Significant amounts of text are taken verbatim from other publications (identified by iThenticate® software). I do not want to be discouraging, but authors should carefully consider these criteria before submitting papers to our journal. Several years ago we established an objective of having at least three high-quality “front matter” articles (reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and spotlights) per issue. In 2014, we met this goal for the first time, with 3.5 such papers per issue, up from 2.3 front matter articles per issue in 2013. The special issues on herbicide resistance (September, 2014), based on the Global Herbicide Resistance Challenge Conference (Perth, Australia; February, 2013), and whiteflies (October, 2014), partially based on the First International Whitefly Symposium (Kolympari, Crete, Greece; May, 2013) helped us to surpass our goal. I thank Stephen Powles for helping with the weed resistance issue as a guest editor. Thanks are also due to Ralf Nauen, Isaac Ishaaya and Murad Ghanim who edited the whitefly issue. In the past, I have cited all of the reviews and perspectives in my annual editorial, but there are just too many this year. Please browse our table of contents, and you will find these papers as front matter articles dealing with many timely topics such as various aspects of herbicide-resistant crops and weeds7 – 9 , natural products in pesticide discovery10 , pesticide hormesis,11,12 , climate change effects on biocontrol13 , fungicide resistance14 , EU pesticide policies effects on agriculture15 , and natural enemy-mediated interactions among prey species and effects on arthropod biocontrol16 . We look forward to two special issues in 2015. The first will be an issue dedicated our previous Editor-in-Chief, Gerald Brooks. The papers in this issue are on work inspired or related to Gerry’s many seminal research accomplishments. The second will be an issue on pollinators and pesticides, in large part based on a symposium on
www.soci.org
© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
1
The question addressed is of little scientific significance. The work has been published in whole or in part elsewhere. The paper is of limited geographical importance or interest. The paper has a questionable relationship to the management of pests. The paper is on products of uncertain chemical composition (e.g. crude extracts, formulations with incomplete chemical descriptions) or unknown or unclear active ingredients. The paper is only an efficacy comparison of commercial products. The paper is preliminary (e.g., minimal data). The paper is too similar to another or others by the same or different authors.
70
Rejection rate (%)
We have again had a prosperous year (2014) for the journal. Our impact factor increased to 2.743 (for 2013), an all time high, and the number of papers submitted will be about 800 for 2014, also a new record. This puts Pest Management Science into a close second place for impact factor among the top journals dealing with pest management. Kudos to the authors of the five most cited Pest Management Science papers of 20131 – 5 , and I congratulate Chris Bass and Linda Field for their paper on gene amplification and insecticide resistance, which was out most cited paper in 2013 from any year.6 The composition of the Editorial Board (EB) changed slightly. Jack Plimmer, Colin Walker, and Don Wauchope retired from the EB. They all served as Associate Editors (AE). Don Wauchope also served as the Americas Editor when the organization of the EB was to some extent arranged geographically, and more recently as an Executive Editor (EE). We thank them all for donating large amounts of their precious time and scientific expertise to our journal. Each of them served our journal well for many years. We welcomed Peter Baur, Nicolas Desneux, Peter Jeschke, Thomas Sparks, Thomas Van Leeuwen, Jinjun Wang, Yidong Wu, and Xinling Yang to the EB as AEs. Keith Solomon replaced Don Wauchope as an EE. As I mentioned in last year’s editorial, the number of pages that we can print stays about the same, so, to avoid backlogs of papers waiting to be printed, our rejection rate has necessarily had to increase with increasing submissions. I might add that we still publish about twice as many papers per year as the only pest management-related journal with a higher impact factor. Our rejection rate for 2014 is currently at its highest level ever (70%), rising from 45% in 2005. As I speculated last year, the more selective acceptance of papers has probably contributed to our rising impact factor. This speculation is supported by plotting the rejection rates of all years from 2005 to 2012 versus the impact factor for following years (2006-2013) (Fig 1). Correlations do not prove causal relationships, but this plot shows a generally positive relationship between these metrics for the past eight years. Because of the growing influx of papers, we are rejecting a significant fraction of submitted papers without review in order to reduce EB member and reviewer burnout. I want to repeat and add to the criteria that we consider reasons for rejection without review:
www.soci.org this topic from the 13th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry (San Francisco, California, USA; August, 2014) and the International Symposium on Hazards of Pesticides to Bees (Ghent, Belgium; September, 2014). In closing, I thank the many reviewers and members of the EB who have contributed their expertise, judgment, and valuable time. With their help and that of the pest management community, I hope that we can successfully continue the improvement of the journal in 2015. Stephen O. Duke Editor-in-Chief Oxford, Mississippi
REFERENCES 1 Fonseca DM, Unlu I, Crepeau T, Farajollah A, Healy SP, Bartlett-Healy K, et al, Area-wide management of Aedes albopictus. Part 2: Gauging the efficacy of traditional integrated pest control measures against urban container mosquitoes. Pest Manag Res 69:1351-1361 (2013). 2 Jeanguenat A, The story of an new insecticidal chemistry class: the diamides. Pest Manag Sci 69:7-14 (2013). 3 Cools HJ and Fraaije BA, Update on mechanisms of azole resistance in Mycosphaerella graminicola and implications for future control. Pest Manag Sci 69:150-155 (2013). 4 Délye C, Unravelling the genetic bases fo non-target-site-based resistance (NTSR) to herbicides: a major challenge for weed science in the forthcoming decade. Pest Manag Sci 69:176-187 (2013).
Editorial
5 Paz A, Jareño D, Arroyo L, Viñuela J, Arroyo B, Mougeot F, et al. Avian predators as a biological control system of common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in north-western Spain: experimental set-up and preliminary results. Pest Manag Sci 69:444-450 (2013). 6 Bass C and Field LM, Gene amplification and insecticide resistance. Pest Manag Sci 67:886-890 (2011). 7 Sammons RD and Gaines TA, Glyphosate resistance: state of knowedge. Pest Manag Sci 70:1367-1377 (2014). 8 Green JM, Current state of herbicides in herbicide-resistant crops. Pest Manag Sci 70:1351-1357 (2014). 9 Heap I, Global perspective on herbicide-resistant weeds. Pest Manag Sci 70:1306-1315 (2014). 10 Gerwick BC and Sparks TC, Natural product for pest control: an analysis of their role, value and future. Pest Manag Sci 70:1169-1185 (2014). 11 Guedes RNC and Cutler GC, Insecticide-induced hormesis and arthropod pest management. Pest Manag Sci 70:690-697 (2014). 12 Belz RG and Duke SO, Herbicides and plant hormesis. Pest Manag Sci 70: 698-707 (2014). 13 Aguilar-Fenollosa E and Jacas JA, Can we forecast the effects of climate change on entomophageous biological control agents? Pest Manag Sci 70: 853-859 (2014). 14 Oliver RP, A reassessment of the risk of rust fungi developing resistance to fungicides. Pest Manag Sci 70:1641-1645 (2014). 15 Jess S, Kidea S, Moody A, Rennick G, Murchie AK and Cooke LR, European Union policy on pesticides: implications for agriculture in Ireland. Pest Manag Sci 70:1646-1654 (2014). 16 Chailleux A, Mohl EK, Alves MT, Messelink GJ and Desneux N, Natural enemy-mediated indirect interactions among prey species: potential for enhancing biocontrol services in agro-ecosystems. Pest Manag Sci 70:1769-1779 (2014).
2 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ps
© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
Pest Manag Sci 2015; 71: 1–2
