Ingeniería Agrícola

y Biosistemas

Guide for authors

INTRODUCTION
Ingeniería Agrícola y Biosistemas (Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering) is a semiannual journal published by
the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, offering professionals in agricultural and biosystems engineering a means
for publishing previously-unpublished scientific and technological research results. To achieve this task, this guide
outlines the rules governing submission of manuscripts, in order to have a standardized structure and format.

TOPICS
Articles submitted for consideration should be related to one of the following subject matters:
• Environment: sewage treatment and use, agricultural waste management, environmental impact of
agricultural development, watershed and natural resource management, pollution control and environmental
protection.
• Automation: intelligent machines, automatic process control, automated control of greenhouses, biosensors,
bioengineering and biosystems modeling.
• Rural constructions: agricultural and agro-industrial buildings, hydro-structures, and use of plastics in
agriculture.
• Energy: Facilities for power, bioenergy, and renewable energy (solar, eolian, and geothermic, among others)
generation.
• Geomatics: navigation systems, geographic information systems, geographic positioning systems, remote
sensing, image analysis, and bioinformatics.
• Machinery: agricultural equipment; machinery for establishing, protecting and harvesting agricultural
products; machinery for livestock facilities; equipment for agro-industries; hydraulic and turbomachinery;
forest harvesting equipment, tractors and farm tools.
• Simulation and optimization of biosystems: process modeling, validation methodologies, simulation and
optimization techniques, mathematics for agriculture and prediction of agricultural production.
• Soil: soil properties, water relations with soil-plant-atmosphere, dynamics of soils (during tillage, traction and
compaction), and erosion control.
• Food technology: development of agro-food; fermentations; meat products; dairy products; products from
cereals and oilseeds; sensory evaluation; physical, chemical and physicochemical properties of foods and
related products; analysis and design of food and drying processes.
• Animal production technology: automation and optimization of facilities for animal production, handling and
processing of livestock products, and construction and technology for apiculture.
 • Postharvest technology: properties of biomaterials, processing and storage of fruits and vegetables, electronic
screening, sensors for postharvest, control of maturation and senescence, quality, packaging and packing,
biosystems modeling and refrigeration.
• Water use in agriculture: agro-meteorology, crops water requirements, transport processes and infiltration,
irrigation and drainage, water resource management, and fertirrigation.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS
The types of scientific and technological manuscripts that can be submitted include:

Maximum 25 pages
• Unpublished articles that are the result of original research.
• Critical review articles about agricultural engineering and biosystems.

Maximum 15 pages
• Scientific and technological notes.

PROCEDURE FOR RECEIPT OF MANUSCRIPTS

We suggest consulting the format checklist prior to submitting a paper (http://www.chapingo.mx/revistas/
inagbi/archivosPDF/criterios_formato.pdf).

Manuscript receipt
Contributions are received through Editorial Manager (http://www.editorialmanager.com/inagbi/). The follow-
up evaluation is conducted through the Editorial Manager system and exclusively in communication with the
Corresponding Author. A tutorial on this system is at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/homepage/DOCS/
Author_Tutorial.pdf

Documentation submitted to the Journal must include:

a) Identification sheet with the article’s title and the names and affiliations of the authors, according to the rule
specified in this guide for authors.
b) Text of the contribution, which must contain all the sections specified in this guide, with the exception of the
authors and their affiliation.
c) Letter of request that includes: affiliation, address, telephone number, email address and the signature of all
the authors, without exception, according to the corresponding format (http://www.chapingo.mx/revistas/
inagbi/archivosPDF/Carta de sometimiento_INAGBI.docx).
d) Letter of transfer of rights (http://www.chapingo.mx/revistas/inagbi/archivosPDF/Carta de cesion_INAGBI.
docx).

The electronic document must be written with MS Word processor; tables are included at the end of the text and if
there are graphs or figures, they must be appended separately. The graphics must be sent in image formats: TIFF
or JPG with a minimum size of 945 x 945 pixels and a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch (300 ppi).

Note: The tables and equations should not be images; they must also be submitted in editable format.
Notice of manuscript receipt
If the paper addresses a topic in keeping with the Journal’s objectives and meets the requirements described in
this guide for authors, a letter acknowledging receipt of the contribution is issued.

STRUCTURE OF CONTRIBUTIONS

Title
The title must not exceed 150 characters, with the first letter in upper case and the rest in lower case. If biological
organisms are mentioned in the title that are not common in the agronomic field, they must be written according
to the scientific norm. If widely-known species are mentioned, the scientific name is written in the keywords and
not in the title.

Authors, affiliation and address

The name of the authors must be written after the title, leaving a space, aligned to the left, and each in a different
paragraph. Academic degrees or titles must not be mentioned. It is recommended to include the name as it is
registered, in the event that it is, in the ORCID system (http://orcid.org/). The name must start with the first
name(s), followed by surnames, which in the case of two must be linked by a hyphen without spaces.

In the case of authors with a different affiliation, a numerical superscript after each name is used to identify their
data.

Following the authors’ names, their affiliation and full address is written, as well as the email address and telephone
number of the Corresponding author.

The Corresponding author is identified by the superscript * and the words “Corresponding author” in parentheses.

Aplication of the finite element method to the prediction of

temperature gradients in greenhouses

Lázaro Riquelme-Frías1
Adrián Velazco-Montoya1*
George Smith2

1
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica Agrícola.
Carretera México-Texcoco km 38.5, Chapingo, Estado de México,
C. P. 56230, MÉXICO.
avla@correo.chapingo.mx, tel.: 01 595 952 1500 (*Autor para correspondencia)

2
Universidad Tecnológica de San Luis Potosí, Facultad de Ingeniería. Circuito Santa Clara,
San Luis Potosí, C. P. 78385, MÉXICO.

Abstract
It is a synthesis of the most relevant aspects of the contribution: brief introduction, objectives, methodology,
results, limitations of the study, originality and conclusions, all of which must be presented separately. It should
not include a discussion or references to tables or figures. It must not contain more than 250 words in the case
of scientific articles and critical reviews; in scientific or technological notes the limit is 150 words. Consult the
manuscript template manuscrito (https://www.chapingo.mx/revistas/en/inagbi/index.php?seccion=material).

Highlights
This section consists of four core points that indicate the importance of the contribution and encourage people
to read it.

Keywords
It is a list of up to five simple or compound words, not included in the title, indicating the topics addressed in
the contribution. They must be written in a line below the last line of the Abstract, on the left margin of the
text, in lowercase, separated by comas and with a period at the end of the list.

Introduction
It includes issues related to the object of study: the importance, background literature, hypotheses and research
objectives. It provides a precise justification for the scientific problem to be addressed and highlights what
makes the contribution distinctive. The objectives are written at the end of this section, and they must specify
and clearly define the purpose and scope of the study performed.

Materials and methods

This section describes the most pertinent and unique elements of the research process, enabling other
researchers to both understand how the research was conducted and, in turn, duplicate and corroborate it. This
section includes: study locations and dates, factors and levels under study, treatment design, experimental unit
and design, variables evaluated together with their units and method of measurement, materials, equipment
(make and model) and techniques employed, handling of the experiment, procedures and statistical analysis
techniques. If the methodologies used require a lengthy description which can be found in a manual or
specialized publication, the corresponding citation should be made. If changes are made to these generalized
methods, they must be stated.

Results and discussion

They include the results obtained or facts observed arising from the application of the methodology in an
orderly, complete and concise manner. Tables and figures (drawings, graphs, photographs, etc.) may be
submitted; they must be understood on their own without having to refer to the text, and information in the text
should not be repeated in tables or figures or vice-versa. They must be attached to the end of the text; however,
where they should be inserted in the text must be indicated.

It is necessary to incorporate the elements derived from the statistical analysis; therefore, reference needs to
be made to the existence or lack thereof of statistical differences, and the extent of risk assumed by the
researcher in making such statements. If appropriate and relevant, the interactions between factors under
study must be construed in a coherent way. In addition to measures of central tendency, measures of
dispersion such as the coefficient of variation or standard error should be included when relevant.

The reasons for the results obtained and their relationship to the hypothesis and objectives must be
explained, supported by reference to the results and reflections present in the scientific literature related to the
topic. Each relevant result must be discussed.

Do not repeat information concerning materials and methods and avoid a literature review-type approach.
This section may be submitted in two separate parts; if so, avoid repetitions.
Conclusions
These are statements derived from the results; thus they should not exceed their scope, nor be a summary. They
must be in complete agreement with the stated objectives at the beginning of the study. In this section, only the
proven facts in the study must be included, so that one should not include hypotheses or speculations, and should
not make recommendations that guide future studies.

Acknowledgment
They are a way of recognizing individuals, institutions, funds and research grants, among others, that have
somehow supported or contributed in a major way to the carrying out of the study.

References
The bibliographic references cited throughout the paper are presented here in accordance with APA 6 standards
(http://www.apastyle.org/; a guide for their use is found on the journal site (http://www.chapingo.mx/revistas/
archivos/guia_apa.pdf). They must all include their DOI (Data Object Identifier: www.doi.org), or alternatively the
electronic address where the original citation can be consulted. Theses, pamphlets, conference proceedings, and
any other publication of limited circulation are not allowed as references. Nor are Internet citations allowed, except
those related to statistics and yearbooks from official bodies.

FORMAT

Language
Contributions written in Spanish or English are received.

General information
The text must be in 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1.5-line spacing (including tables, figures and literature
cited) and 2.5-cm margins on all four sides. Every page must be numbered consecutively, along with the lines on
the left margin to facilitate the review work.

Names
The common names of elements, substances, plants, animals, and things must be written in lower case. Proper
names are written in lower case, except for the initial(s). Product brands should not be used, but rather their
generic or chemical name.

Chemical names (those in which the chemical structure of a substance is established) should be written
according to International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (UPAC) nomenclature (http://www.iupac.org/).
For example, “2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid”.

Scientific names accompany, in brackets, the common names of plants and animals the first time they are
mentioned; after that, they must be omitted. They must be written in italics and are made up of the generic
epithet (genus), specific epithet (species) and last name(s) of the classifier(s), the latter of which is not in italics.
They are written in lower case except for the initial of the genus, the last names of the classifiers and the names of
the cultivars which are annexed to the scientific name. For example: Persea americana Mill.

Mathematical formulas
All equations should be centered on a separate line and numbered successively on the right side margin. It is
recommended to write the equations with the equation editor of Microsoft Word® (Equations Microsoft Editor
3.0) or using Math Type™ of Science Design. All of the variables used in the manuscript should be defined in full
(name, symbol, and units). The symbols should be as simple as possible. When using subscripts and superscripts,
the authors should be careful to have only one meaning for each one and be defined. All of the Greek letters and
special symbols must be inserted in a well-defined manner. Special attention must be paid to ensuring the correct
relative position of each symbol and number, especially in relation to equations, subscripts and superscripts. All of
the mathematical symbols must be written in italics in order to distinguish them from the units.

The International System of Units must be used. All units have to be written in standard text. The lineal format must
be used for the writing of compound units; for instance, for specific heat, J·kg-1·K-1 is used.

Abbreviations
The first time an abbreviation is used in the document, the whole meaning must be written in standard text,
followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis. Later, the abbreviation may be used without further explanation, for
example, “…compounds were identified by means of high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)…”.

Numbers
Always use cardinal numbers to indicate units, measures, and numbers larger than 10. However, when numbers
from zero to nine are stated, not related to units, these should be written out, for example, “… seven treatments
were established…” and “…the room temperature was 7 °C…”. To separate the whole from decimals in a quantity,
the point will be used. For very large or very small quantities. prefixes or scientific notation should be used. Some
examples are as follows: “…3.6 MPa were used…”; “with a permeability of 1.45 × 10-14 kg∙m∙s-1∙m-2∙Pa-1 and a
thickness of 35 μm…”; “… the pressure drop was calculated along a distance of 1.5 km with …”.

Tables and Figures

The title, which should be short and precise, is written above the table, starting with the word “Table”, followed by
the consecutive Arabic numeral that corresponds to its order of appearance in the text.

Tables should only have three main horizontal lines: above or at the start of the table, below the column header row
and below the table itself, that is, at the bottom thereof; if it is necessary to separate another variable or statistic
such as minimum significant difference or coefficient of variation, dashed lines may be used. Any explanation or
abbreviation, except for ones of common use, should be stated at the foot of the table for which superscripts will
be used with letters of the alphabet in inverse order (z, y, x, w,…). The indications of statistical significance (where
appropriate) should be done in lowercase letters from the beginning of the alphabet (a,b,c,d…). In addition, a
simple asterisk (*) may be used for P ≤ 0.05, double asterisk (**) for P≤0.01 or triple asterisk (***) for P ≤ 0.001.

Under no circumstances should vertical lines be inserted; their use is not permitted. Tables must be constructed
in Word without using tabs or lines made with the drawing tool.

All figures should be drawn up with maximum dimensions of 17.5 x 24 cm, corresponding to the text box of the
journal Ingeniería Agrícola y Biosistemas, which allows the following options:
a) Include two figures on the same page, each measuring 17.5 x 11.5 cm, including the title;
b) For very tall figures, place only one image per page, including the title, without exceeding the 17.5-cm
page width;
c) Horizontally, when the figure is too large, place one figure per page, including the title.
It should be understood that figures can be reduced to half size. They must not contain letters, symbols or lines
made with the drawing tool; if there is a need to do this, the objects must be grouped together and saved as an
image file at a minimum resolution of 300 ppi.
The legend is placed at the bottom of the figure with the word “Figure”, followed by the Arabic numeral
corresponding to the sequence and a text containing the information needed to understand it. Like the tables, it
should be understood by itself without having to refer to the text. If applicable, the species with which the study
was conducted must be indicated. The title of the figure should be included as text and should not be part of the
figure (they must be independent).

The body of the figure includes the necessary numbers and symbols whose meaning must go in a box, in a corner,
without overlapping other lines, areas or bars. Points, lines or bars representing means in the body of the graph
must be accompanied by their standard errors. In addition, it must have all the information necessary for a clear
understanding of the figure’s purpose.