Scientific research is known to occur in waves, which is rather easy to understand. Undulations are set up when a barrier in knowledge is overcome and new ways for further research are opened up.
These research waves may be of worldwide occurrence, they can also be restricted to a certain area. In the latter case, they appear as minor waves in the wake of a world wave when, for instance, in a country certain facilities that were not available at the time, now come within reach.
In plant breeding and its related sciences, too, these undulations are experienced. Once a barrier has been crossed, research continues, but the workers engaged are fewer and less time is spent on it. An example of the minor waves is mutation research and mutation breeding.
Earlier waves occurred, for instance, for polyploidization when the action of colchicine became known, for hybrid wheat breeding when suitable male sterilizing cytoplasms were identified, for diallel crosses, especially when computers became available, and at present the identification of genotypes by electrophoresis (and chromatography). Also, research to set up computer retrieval systems on to find low energy requiring phenotypes is 'in'. In the near future we may expect more results on gene bank work and crop vulnerability.
Euphytica is a journal to publish the results of these research waves. But not to an unlimited extent. Euphytica will publish papers to indicate the first results of a new wave, but after three to five papers Euphytica will only accept those reports which bring something 'new'. For instance, an improved method or an extreme result. So some years ago it stopped accepting the many papers on diallel crosses. The results tell something about the few genotypes, often of restricted importance and have to be seen in the environment i.e. the region, country, where the plants are grown. Hence these results cannot be used on a world wide scale. Similarly, the low energy-phenotypes. Their other characters may limit their use. At present biochemists are engaged in the identification of species relationships and variety descriptions by electrophoresis. In this case, too, Euphytica has published several papers, but will not continue to accept more or less identical papers. For instance, papers on species relationships will be considered for acceptance if new knowledge of these relationships is presented and will be useful to breeders. Species known to be not-related and uncrossable with a cultivated species often will show -as expected -a different enzym or protein banding pattern. Papers on variety identification have more chance of being accepted, but within some years results of variety identification should be published in such way that they reach the persons directly interested. From time to time a paper on this subject will be accepted to inform the readers. In that case a review on the subject will be more appreciated than a paper describing the banding pattern of hitherto not yet described varieties.