Weed Research journal perspectives from the IWSC, Hangzhou, China


Nearly 600 weed scientist from 50 countries met in Hangzhou, China over the week of 16 to 23 June 2012 for the 6th International Weed Science Congress.  This meeting, led by the International Weed Science Society, was staged by the Chinese Weed Science Society. Our hosts organised a great venue and gave us a good conference, interesting excursions and fine opening and closing ceremonies.  As the Editor-in-Chief of Weed Research, it was an opportunity to see and be seen and present a face behind those decision letters, both rejection and acceptance, from Weed Research. The journal was well-represented, with nine Subject Editors present.  We were also able to meet and discuss some of the work of the Editorial Board, including paper handling times, something all authors are sensitive about. 

As the E-i-C, I was also invited to observe a meeting to discuss the next East Asia Weed Science Congress, This was chaired by Dr Do-Soon Kim (Seoul), a member of our Editorial Board. This meeting is jointly held between the Chinese, Japanese and Korean Weed Science Societies and it was agreed these will be held every 3 years, following the first meeting in Jeju in 2011.  I therefore had the pleasure to meet the senior executives of all three societies:
For the Japanese Weed Science Society, President Prof Hiroshi Matsumoto (Tsukuba; hmatsu@biol.tsukuba.ac.jp), Prof Tohru Tominaga (Kyoto; tominaga@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp); Dr Shunji Kurokawa (NARO Tsukuba; shunji@affrc.go.jp) 
For the Weed Science Society of China, Chairman Prof Chaoxian Zhang (Beijing; cxzhang@wssc.org.cn), Vice-Chairman Prof Qiang Sheng (Nanjing; wrl@njau.edu.cn); Prof Bo Li (Shanghai)
For the Korean Society of Weed Science, Publication Secretary Dr In-Yong Lee (RDA Suwon; leeinyong@korea.kr), Director Dr Byeong-Chul Moon (RDA Suwon; moonbc@korea.kr) and Planning Secretary Do-Soon Kim

Interestingly, it was also an opportunity to meet the executive of our sister Wiley journal, Weed Biology & Management. This journal was started about 10 years ago by the Japanese Weed Science Society. As a new journal, it continues to cost that Society a significant amount of money to publish. 

On the final day in Hangzhou, I and Prof Jens Streibig (Copenhagen) taught a course on writing a paper for an international journal, from 09:30 to a little after 13:00.  It was extremely gratifying and worthwhile to have an audience of 40 from 8 countries, especially as the course was a late addition to the programme.  It is the policy of Weed Research to encourage submission from across the globe and to try to help authors with the submission and review process, while maintaining the high standards of the journal. These taught courses are one method of spreading this message and it will be repeated in Samsun, Turkey, next year, at the next European Weed Research Society Symposium.

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