Journal profile · Agronomy
Weed Science
ISSN 0043-1745 · eISSN 1550-2759 · Cambridge University Press · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1968
Weed Science: CAS Zone 2 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.33; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; review 12–24 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 82 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Weed Science is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Weed Control and Herbicide Applications, Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies and Allelopathy and phytotoxic interactions, together about 47.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Publishing in WSSA journals helps to support our discipline as a whole, making research readily visible for other weed scientists to reference and cite.Publishing in WSSA journals greatly enhances the ability of weed science faculties to be promoted.The average time from article submission to first decision is 41 days.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agronomy
Editor-in-chief William K. VencillPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United States 19, Canada 4, Australia 3, Mainland China 1, India 1 (29 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Weed Control and Herbicide ApplicationsAgricultural and Biological Sciences27%
- Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental StudiesEnvironmental Science12.6%
- Allelopathy and phytotoxic interactionsAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.3%
- Agronomic Practices and Intercropping SystemsAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.3%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.7%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.6%
- Turfgrass Adaptation and ManagementEnvironmental Science3.3%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
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 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Agronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 2.33LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 46Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.57LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80LetPub ·
- h-index
- 147OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,938OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.3OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 82.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 80LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 8,127 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 66 | 66 | 14 |
| 2025 | 82 | 82 | 132 |
| 2024 | 105 | 96 | 436 |
| 2023 | 75 | 64 | 565 |
| 2022 | 72 | 66 | 702 |
| 2021 | 82 | 32 | 1,024 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- 12–24 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 41 daysPublisher 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 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — | |
| 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.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 2,000 words
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- Progress reports; non-replicated experiments
Article types accepted6
- my viewe. My View. Short essays not exceeding 2,000 words that address current issues of general interest in weed science are occasionally published.Length not stated
- rapid communicationd. *Rapid Communication. Publication of an article containing original research may under exceptional circumstances be expedited.Length not stated
- research articlea. *Research Article. Original articles reporting research in the areas of physiology, chemistry, and biochemistry; weed biology and ecology; weed management; s…Length not stated
- reviewb. *Review. Weed Science welcomes review articles that synthesize current information and appeal to a broad audience.Length not stated
- special issue articlef. *Special Issue Article. Themed special issues of Weed Science are occasionally published.Length not stated
- symposium papersc. *Symposium Papers. Proceedings of WSSA and other symposia may be published in Weed Science, normally within one year of the symposium.Length not stated
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
- Cambridge University Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1968
- ISSN
- 0043-1745
- Electronic ISSN
- 1550-2759
- Society / sponsor
- Weed Science Society of America
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Weed Science
What CAS zone is Weed Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Weed Science is in Zone 2 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Agronomy / 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 Weed Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.33; CiteScore 4, h-index 147.
How long does peer review take at Weed Science?
Authors report an average review time of 12–24 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 Weed Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 2,000 words; 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 Weed Science based?
Of the 29 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (19), Canada (4) and Australia (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Weed Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Weed Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Weed Science open access, and what is the APC?
Weed Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,550.
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: .