Journal profile · Plant Sciences
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation
ISSN 0721-7595 · eISSN 1435-8107 · Springer US · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1982
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.16; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,890; median 189 days to acceptance (122 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 95%; 399 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation is published by Springer US and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance, Plant Molecular Biology Research and Plant tissue culture and regeneration, together about 33.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science and Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Plant Growth Regulation is an international publication featuring original articles on all aspects of plant growth and development. We welcome manuscripts reporting question-based research on various aspects of plant growth and development using hormonal, physiological, environmental, genetic, biophysical, developmental and/or molecular approaches.The journal also publishes timely reviews on highly relevant areas and/or studies in plant growth and development, including interdisciplinary work with an emphasis on plant growth, plant hormones and plant pathology or abiotic stress.In addition, the journal features occasional thematic issues with special guest editors, as well as brief communications describing novel techniques and meeting reports.The journal is unlikely to accept manuscripts that are purely descriptive in nature or reports work with simple tissue culture without attempting to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth regulation, those that focus exclusively on microbial communities, or deal with the (elicitation by plant hormones of) synthesis of secondary metabolites.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Editor-in-chief Jutta Ludwig-MuPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 28 in mainland China (about 23%); most named Mainland China 28, India 20, United States 17, Japan 6, Italy 6 (123 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceAgricultural and Biological Sciences16.3%
- Plant Molecular Biology ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences11.3%
- Plant tissue culture and regenerationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolismAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.9%
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and ImmunityAgricultural and Biological Sciences5%
- Plant Physiology and Cultivation StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.7%
- Plant Reproductive BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Plant responses to water stressAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.16LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.95LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 70LetPub ·
- h-index
- 138OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,296OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.01OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.34%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 384LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 823,700Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,247 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 445 | 107 | 191 |
| 2025 | 399 | 52 | 1,120 |
| 2024 | 402 | 70 | 3,686 |
| 2023 | 301 | 42 | 4,092 |
| 2022 | 353 | 40 | 8,006 |
| 2021 | 263 | 28 | 6,988 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
189 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 135 days – 285 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (123 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 211 days
- Sample
- 122 articles with submission and acceptance dates (951 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 1.7 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 95%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 29 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,890 / EUR 2,890 / GBP 2,490 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted4, with length limits
- brief communicationThe Journal of Plant Growth Regulation considers original research articles, reviews, and brief communications. All submissions will be peer reviewed: • Origina…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- original research articleThe Journal of Plant Growth Regulation considers original research articles, reviews, and brief communications. All submissions will be peer reviewed: • Origina…Length not stated
- reviewThe Journal of Plant Growth Regulation considers original research articles, reviews, and brief communications. All submissions will be peer reviewed: • Origina…Length not stated
- review articleThe Journal of Plant Growth Regulation considers original research articles, reviews, and brief communications. All submissions will be peer reviewed: • Origina…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author Contribution Statement
Authors must include a brief statement on the contributions made by each author listed in the manuscript. This statement can be provided in free text or using CRediT taxonomy, and should be included in a separate section before the reference list. Please see the “Authorship principles” section below for more details Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The journal encourages authors to provide a statement of Data availability in their article. Data availability statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found, including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Data availability statements can also indicate whether data are av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer US
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1982
- ISSN
- 0721-7595
- Electronic ISSN
- 1435-8107
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 45, Issue 7 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Plant Growth Regulation
What CAS zone is Journal of Plant Growth Regulation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Plant Growth Regulation?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.16; CiteScore 9.9, h-index 138.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Plant Growth Regulation?
Based on the dates recorded on 122 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 189 days (interquartile range 135–285 days); authors report an average review time of about 1.7 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 95%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Plant Growth Regulation?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Plant Growth Regulation based?
Of the 123 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 28 (about 23%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (28), India (20) and United States (17). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Plant Growth Regulation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Plant Growth Regulation open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,890.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .