Journal profile · Agronomy
Plant Breeding
ISSN 0179-9541 · eISSN 1439-0523 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · GERMANY · Bimonthly · Founded 1986
Plant Breeding: CAS Zone 4 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.69; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,550; median 150 days to acceptance (92 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 137 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Plant Breeding is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd and is in Zone 4 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology, Genetics and Plant Breeding and Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics, together about 31.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
PLANT BREEDING publishes full-length original manuscripts and review articles on all aspects of plant improvement, breeding methodologies, and genetics to include qualitative and quantitative inheritance and genomics of major crop species. PLANT BREEDING provides readers with cutting-edge information on use of molecular techniques and genomics as they relate to improving gain from selection. Since its subject matter embraces all aspects of crop improvement, its content is sought after by both industry and academia. Fields of interest: Genetics of cultivated plants as well as research in practical plant breeding.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agronomy
Editor-in-chief Jens LéonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 8%); most named Germany 12, United States 5, India 4, Mainland China 3, Australia 2 (38 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Wheat and Barley Genetics and PathologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.1%
- Genetics and Plant BreedingAgricultural and Biological Sciences9.9%
- Plant Disease Resistance and GeneticsAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.1%
- Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and AnimalsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8%
- Plant tissue culture and regenerationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6%
- Plant Reproductive BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
- Plant Virus Research StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.1%
- Plant Pathogens and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
INSPECCASCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, AGRICOLA
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
- 1.69LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 107OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,844OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.62OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.92%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 90LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 91Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 213,135Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,777 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 84 | 36 | 16 |
| 2025 | 137 | 57 | 168 |
| 2024 | 107 | 67 | 347 |
| 2023 | 89 | 53 | 527 |
| 2022 | 89 | 23 | 599 |
| 2021 | 107 | 23 | 1,114 |
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
150 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 102 days – 202 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (92 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 167 days
- Sample
- 92 articles with submission and acceptance dates (214 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 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 163 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single 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 4,550 / EUR 3,810 / GBP 3,070 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 4
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- comment articleResearch Article Review-Article Comment ArticleLength not stated
- commentary3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- hypothesis3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- letter3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- literature review3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- opinion3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- perspective3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- research article3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…main text ≤ 16,000 words
- review3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…Length not stated
- review article3.1 OVERVIEW Key instructions for each article type are summarized in the following table: Research Article Review-Article Comment Article Formatting Times 11 ;…main text ≤ 16,000 words · abstract ≤ 300 words
- review-articleResearch Article Review-Article Comment ArticleLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Peer review
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s Authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include in this section, see the ‘Conflict of Interest’ section in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Submitting authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
The journal encourages authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving it in an appropriate public repository. Authors should include a data accessibility statement, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published alongside their paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Peer Review and Acceptance The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Manuscripts are single-blind peer reviewed. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Wiley's policy on the confidentiality of the review proc…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. SUBMISSION AND PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Originality: submission implies content has not been published or submitted elsewhere except as a brief abstract in proceedings. Model summary
Authors should kindly note that submission implies that the content has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium. New submissions should be made via the Wiley Authors submission portal. You may check the status of your submission at any time by logging on to submission.wiley.com and clicking the “My…
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
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1986
- ISSN
- 0179-9541
- Electronic ISSN
- 1439-0523
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 145, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Plant Breeding
What CAS zone is Plant Breeding in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Plant Breeding is in Zone 4 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Agronomy / Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Plant Breeding?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.69; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 107.
How long does peer review take at Plant Breeding?
Based on the dates recorded on 92 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 150 days (interquartile range 102–202 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18% (2025). 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 Plant Breeding?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required, 4; Graphical abstract: 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 Plant Breeding based?
Of the 38 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (12), United States (5) and India (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Plant Breeding?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Plant Breeding is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists INSPEC, CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Plant Breeding open access, and what is the APC?
Plant Breeding is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,550.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .