Journal profile · Agronomy
Theoretical and Applied Genetics
ISSN 0040-5752 · eISSN 1432-2242 · Springer Berlin Heidelberg · GERMANY · Semimonthly · Founded 1929
Theoretical and Applied Genetics: CAS Zone 1 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.02; hybrid open access; APC about USD 5,190; median 152 days to acceptance (117 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 75%; 321 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Theoretical and Applied Genetics is published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg and is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology, Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals and Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics, together about 35.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Theoretical and Applied Genetics publishes original research and review articles in all key areas of modern plant genetics, plant genomics and plant biotechnology. All work needs to have a clear genetic component and significant impact on plant breeding. Theoretical considerations are only accepted in combination with new experimental data and/or if they indicate a relevant application in plant genetics or breeding. Preference is given to work on leading crop plants and manuscripts presenting innovative approaches.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agronomy
Editor-in-chief Rod SnowdonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 14 in mainland China (about 17%); most named United States 17, Mainland China 14, Germany 14, Australia 10, Canada 6 (83 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 Sciences12.8%
- Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and AnimalsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology12.7%
- Plant Disease Resistance and GeneticsAgricultural and Biological Sciences9.9%
- Genetics and Plant BreedingAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.7%
- Chromosomal and Genetic VariationsAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.9%
- Plant tissue culture and regenerationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5%
- Plant Reproductive BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
- Plant Virus Research StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Horticulture | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Horticulture | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Horticulture | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexMEDLINECASCAB 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
- 4.02LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 164LetPub ·
- h-index
- 267OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 11,006OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.18%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 316LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,000,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 14,406 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 266 | 121 | 116 |
| 2025 | 321 | 116 | 1,150 |
| 2024 | 281 | 100 | 2,284 |
| 2023 | 272 | 89 | 3,900 |
| 2022 | 236 | 85 | 5,228 |
| 2021 | 273 | 104 | 8,867 |
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
152 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 110 days – 212 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 19 days (117 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 173 days
- Sample
- 117 articles with submission and acceptance dates (638 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)
- 75%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 11 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 5,190 / EUR 4,090 / GBP 3,490 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- 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 provide a short description of the contributions made by each listed author (please use initials). This will be published in a separate section in front of the Acknowledgments. We insist that no author be omitted. Note by the editor: Please be aware that changes to the list of authors are not possible after final acceptance of the manuscript. 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 Availability of Data
The journal expects that all datasets on which the conclusions of the paper rely, including all relevant raw data necessary to support the major claims and enable their verification or replication, are made available. We encourage authors to ensure that their datasets are either deposited in publicly available repositories (where available and appropriate) with an appropriate data citation, or pre…
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 Theoretical and Applied Genetics, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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 Berlin Heidelberg
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1929
- ISSN
- 0040-5752
- Electronic ISSN
- 1432-2242
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Theoretical and Applied Genetics
What CAS zone is Theoretical and Applied Genetics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Theoretical and Applied Genetics is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Plant Sciences / Agronomy / Genetics & Heredity / Horticulture; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Theoretical and Applied Genetics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.02; CiteScore 7.6, h-index 267.
How long does peer review take at Theoretical and Applied Genetics?
Based on the dates recorded on 117 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 152 days (interquartile range 110–212 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 75%”. 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 Theoretical and Applied Genetics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: Required. 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 Theoretical and Applied Genetics based?
Of the 83 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 14 (about 17%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (17), Mainland China (14) and Germany (14). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Theoretical and Applied Genetics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Theoretical and Applied Genetics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, MEDLINE, CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Theoretical and Applied Genetics open access, and what is the APC?
Theoretical and Applied Genetics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 5,190.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .