<i>Annals of Applied Biology</i> Editorial to introduce the new strapline

The cover of Annals of Applied Biology now features the strapline ‘Biosciences for Sustainability’. Observant readers will have noticed that Annals of Applied Biology has been rebranded with a new strapline of ‘Biosciences for Sustainability’. This launch of the Annals Strapline aims to better represent the Aims and Scope of the journal and to also align it better with the owning society, the Association of Applied Biologists (AAB). Annals has published high-quality research since 1914 across a wide range of subject areas. The term ‘Applied Biology’ may have a different meaning depending on the reader, so with this rebrand, we aim to clarify its meaning in the context of this journal. Annals of Applied Biology is solely owned by the AAB, a learned society that was founded in 1904. AAB has a membership of 1000 people who have a wide spread of interests across 12 specialist groups that focus on Applied Plant Pathology, Applied Tree and Forest Biology, Biocontrol and Integrated Pest Management, Cropping and the Environment, Food Systems, Horticultural Quality and Food Loss, Nematology, Pesticide Application, Plant Gene Editing, Plant Physiology and Crop Improvement, Soil and Root Biology and Plant Virology. The main activity of the AAB is to organise conferences and workshops that are financially supported by its ownership of Annals. The AAB wish to ensure that the content of Annals continues to closely reflect the wide breadth of interests that are represented across its membership and activities. In the context of the AAB, ‘Applied Biology’ broadly refers to the exploration of advances in plant biology and improving agricultural production. Our aim is to publish research that describes how an organism grows and/or interacts with the natural environment, biotic or abiotic factors and responds to man-made growth modifications. We aim to develop closer links between Annals of Applied Biology and the Association by arranging journal special issues/sections with specific society activities. This ensures that topics chosen for special issues are actively relevant to our community as evidenced through the organisation of scientific meetings. Over the past 6 months, Annals has taken submissions linked to events organised by the AAB ‘Tree and Forest Biology’ and ‘Pesticide Application’ specialist groups. And in the coming year, Annals will accept submissions on topics linked to recent or upcoming activities. The topics of these special issues are ‘Indian Advances in Plant Genomic Technologies’; ‘Potato Cyst Nematode Management’; ‘Biomass and Energy Crops’; and ‘Agricultural Productivity in the Age of Genomic Editing’. Furthermore, in these special issues, the Annals editorial team is providing opportunities for early career scientists to guest-edit articles, adding an important and often overlooked aspect of training. One aspect of Annals that will remain unchanged is the statistical rigour with which articles are reviewed. Annals engages a team of statistical editors who examine the methods used in all submitted papers. Notably, the use of multiple comparison adjustments such as Duncan's or Tukey's is not acceptable for publication in Annals. Any manuscript submitted that uses these statistical tests will be offered advice by our statistical editors and asked to use a different technique prior to final acceptance. Overall, this ensures that research published in Annals has been analysed with high statistical rigour. We look forward to receiving manuscripts over the coming years that will enhance the quality of the journal and develop closer links with the Association of Applied Biologists.