Policies

Open Access Policy

PhytoTalks provides Gold open access to all published content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

All articles published in the journal are:

Freely available online without subscription or payment;
Accessible immediately upon publication;
Available to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and link to in accordance with the applicable open access license.

The journal does not impose any embargo period on published content.

Licensing Policy

All articles published in PhytoTalks are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

This license permits:

Unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium
Commercial use
Adaptation and modification

Conditions: Proper credit must be given to the original author(s) and source.

To view the license, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Note on previous issues:
All articles published prior to the June 2026 issue were licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). From the June 2026 issue onwards, PhytoTalks has adopted the more open CC BY 4.0 license in line with international open access standards.

Copyright Policy

Authors retain copyright of their work published in PhytoTalks. Authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish and distribute the article and to identify itself as the original publisher.

Peer Review Policy

All manuscripts submitted to PhytoTalks undergo a double-blind peer review process, in which both authors’ and reviewers’ identities are concealed from each other.

Peer review workflow:

Initial editorial screening for scope, formatting, and ethical compliance;
Assignment to an editor or editorial handling team;
Evaluation by at least two independent expert reviewers;
Editorial decision based on reviewer comments and manuscript merit.

Editorial decisions may include:

Accept;
Minor Revision;
Major Revision;
Reject.

The journal ensures that peer review is conducted fairly, objectively, and confidentially.

Peer review criteria include:

Originality and novelty;
Scientific rigor and methodological soundness;
Relevance to the journal’s scope;
Clarity of presentation;
Ethical compliance.

Editorial Process and Decision-Making

The editorial team of PhytoTalks is responsible for making publication decisions based solely on the scholarly merit, originality, clarity, relevance, and ethical integrity of submitted manuscripts.

Editorial decisions are not influenced by:

Authors’ nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, religion, political beliefs, or ethnicity;
Commercial interests;
Personal relationships or conflicts of interest.

Editors maintain confidentiality throughout the review and editorial process.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

PhytoTalks is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows internationally accepted ethical publishing practices, including the principles promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Committee on Publication Ethics.

The journal expects editors, reviewers, and authors to adhere to ethical conduct in all stages of publication.

The journal does not tolerate:

Plagiarism;
Data fabrication or falsification;
Duplicate or redundant publication;
Citation manipulation;
Authorship misconduct;
Undisclosed conflicts of interest;
Ethical misconduct in human, animal, or environmental research.

Any suspected ethical violation will be investigated appropriately and may result in manuscript rejection, correction, retraction, or notification to relevant institutions.

Plagiarism Policy

All submissions to PhytoTalks are screened for plagiarism before peer review and/or before final acceptance.

The journal does not accept manuscripts that contain:

Direct plagiarism;
Self-plagiarism without proper disclosure;
Unattributed paraphrasing;
Duplicate publication.

If plagiarism or substantial overlap is identified at any stage, the manuscript may be rejected or the published article may be corrected or retracted, depending on the severity of the issue.

Authorship and Contributorship Policy

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the work.

All listed authors should have contributed significantly to one or more of the following:

Conception or design of the study;
Data collection, analysis, or interpretation;
Drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
Approval of the final version for publication.

All authors must approve the final submitted manuscript and agree to its submission.

The journal does not permit:

Guest authorship;
Gift authorship;
Ghost authorship.

Any change in authorship (addition, removal, or reordering of authors) after submission must be justified in writing and approved by all authors and the editor.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence or be perceived to influence the research or editorial process.

Authors should disclose:

Funding support;
Employment or consultancies;
Patents or patent applications;
Personal or academic relationships relevant to the manuscript.

Reviewers and editors should recuse themselves if:

They have a conflict of interest with the manuscript;
They cannot provide an objective and unbiased evaluation.

If no conflicts exist, authors may state:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Policy

PhytoTalks encourages transparency and reproducibility in research.

Authors are encouraged to make the underlying data supporting the findings of their study available in:

Public repositories;
Institutional repositories;
Supplementary files;
Or upon reasonable request.

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript, such as:

“The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.”
“The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.”

Where data cannot be shared, authors should provide a valid reason.

Ethical Oversight Policy

Where applicable, manuscripts reporting research involving humans, animals, field sampling, or sensitive biological/environmental material must include evidence of ethical approval and compliance with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines.

Authors must ensure:

Necessary ethical clearances have been obtained;
Research has been conducted responsibly and lawfully;
Permissions have been secured for field studies or protected biological resources, where applicable.

The journal reserves the right to request documentary proof of ethical approval.

Human and Animal Research Policy

If a submission includes research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive biological material, authors must clearly state that the study complied with relevant ethical guidelines and received approval from an appropriate ethics committee, where required.

For human subjects:

Informed consent must be obtained where applicable;
Privacy and confidentiality must be protected.

For animal studies:

Research must comply with accepted animal welfare and ethical standards;
Authors must provide the name of the approving ethics authority, where applicable.

If not applicable, authors should clearly indicate this in the manuscript.

AI-Assisted Writing and Generative AI Policy

If artificial intelligence tools were used in the preparation of the manuscript, authors must disclose this use appropriately. AI tools cannot be credited as authors, as they cannot take responsibility for the work.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

PhytoTalks is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record.

Where necessary, the journal may publish:

Corrections for minor but important errors;
Retractions in cases of serious ethical or scientific misconduct;
Expressions of Concern where an investigation is ongoing or evidence is inconclusive.

Retraction or correction decisions will be made by the editorial team based on evidence and ethical publishing standards.

Complaints and Appeals Policy

Authors may appeal editorial decisions or submit complaints regarding editorial handling, peer review, publication ethics, or journal management.

Appeals and complaints should:

Be submitted in writing to the editorial office;
Clearly explain the issue and provide supporting evidence;
Be reviewed fairly and confidentially by the editorial team or designated authority.

The journal will make reasonable efforts to resolve complaints transparently and professionally.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

Authors affiliated with institutions in India are required to pay an Article Processing Charge of INR 3000 per accepted article.

The APC is payable only after the manuscript has been accepted following peer review. There are no submission charges.

APC Waiver for International Authors

To encourage global participation and international collaboration, authors affiliated with institutions outside India will receive a full waiver of the APC for the first two years of the journal’s operation.

This waiver policy is valid until 31 December 2027

This fee covers DOI assignment, High-quality editorial processing, Indexing and metadata curation, OJS maintenance & hosting, and Long-term digital archiving

**What the APC Does Not Influence**

To comply with COPE, DOAJ, and UGC-CARE ethical standards, the APC has no role in editorial decisions.

Manuscripts are evaluated solely on academic merit, originality, and relevance.
Waiver requests do not affect the review outcome.
The decision to accept or reject a manuscript is independent of the authors’ ability to pay.

Waiver & Discount Policy

To promote equitable access to publishing, PhytoTalks offers partial or full APC waivers in the following cases:

Eligibility for Waivers

Students / early-career researchers
Authors without institutional or project funding
Researchers from low-income or lower-middle-income countries
Cases of financial hardship (reviewed confidentially)

How to Apply

Authors may request a waiver at any point before APC payment by emailing the editorial office with the following:

Manuscript ID
Brief justification
Supporting documents (if applicable)

Waiver decisions are fair and confidential and do not affect peer review.

No Hidden Charges

The journal does not charge for:

Submission
Initial review
Resubmission
Color figures
Supplementary files
Editorial correspondence

Only the APC is applicable after acceptance.

Refund Policy

APC is payable only after final acceptance.
Fees are non-refundable once the article enters production.
If withdrawal occurs before acceptance, no APC is charged.

Compliance with International Standards

This APC policy adheres to:

UGC-CARE Guidelines for Transparency in Publishing
DOAJ Best Practices for APC Disclosure
COPE Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing
OASPA Ethical Standards

The policy is reviewed annually to ensure fairness, transparency, and sustainability.

Advertising Policy

PhytoTalks does not publish advertising or sponsored content that influences editorial decisions.

Direct Marketing Policy

Any direct marketing activities, including calls for papers and email communication, are conducted in a professional, accurate, and ethical manner. The journal does not engage in misleading or aggressive solicitation practices.

Archiving and Digital Preservation Policy

All published content is digitally preserved through the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), ensuring long-term archiving and continued accessibility of the journal’s scholarly record.

Repository and Self-Archiving Policy

Authors are permitted to self-archive the published version of their article in institutional repositories, personal websites, and scholarly platforms, provided that proper citation to the original publication in PhytoTalks is included.

Publication Frequency

You should state your journal frequency clearly. Example:

PhytoTalks is published quarterly.

Ownership and Management

PhytoTalks is owned and managed by Safavid e-Publisher. The journal operates under an independent editorial structure committed to academic integrity, editorial transparency, and ethical publishing standards.

Website Transparency and Contact Information

PhytoTalks is committed to transparency in all aspects of journal management, editorial handling, and publication policy. Contact details and editorial information is publicly available on the journal website.