About
What is it?
The Canola Flowering Calculator is a simple phenology model that uses 60 years of local weather data to calculate a
range of possible flowering dates for a specific environment.
How does it differ from other models like YieldProphet® or APSIM?
APSIM and YieldProphet® are full biological models that consider many interactions including soil, water, nutrients,
light and temperature and can estimate growth and development. The Canola Flowering Calculator only predicts development.
It uses the same underlying phenology model as APSIM with climate files produced from SILO. Tests show its flowering
predictions are the same as APSIM 97% of the time.
How does it work?
The results page shows the outcomes of the model and is slightly different depending on if you are trying to
find out which variety to sow, or when to sow. This example shows finding which variety is best for a particular sowing date.
The yellow box shows the range of start of flowering dates generated over the 60 years of simulations. The
dark blue box is the optimal period for the start of flowering in this region. The Optimal Scenario is the
variety that fits within the Optimal start of flowering period best. It is important to note that there are
many other varieties that are within the optimal period, the optimal is just a suggestion. It is also important
to remember that this is just a guide to the start of flowering. If you are a bit early you may lose some
flowers to cold, if a bit late you may suffer some heat stress, but every season is different. If you know
you are on a low paddock that frosts you may want to ensure you flower well within the optimal flowering period
not at the beginning.
For this example, we are finding the optimal sowing date for our particular variety in our location. Remember
the yellow box is a distribution with the median in the middle so you have a 50% chance of flowering in the optimal
window if you plant this variety any time from the 5th of April to the 10th of May, but if you choose the 12th of April
to the 3rd of May you can have more confidence that you will start flowering within the optimal period.
We are working to provide new cultivars to keep the Canola Flowering Calculator up to date.
Feedback
If you have any suggestions or comments on the Canola Flowering Calculator please contact us at
feedback@canolaflowering.com.au.
Further Reading
Acknowledgement: The phenology data that underpins the canola flowering calculator was funded by GRDC in partnership with CSIRO,
NSW DPI and SARDI as part of the Optimising Canola Productivity project CSP00187. The Canola Flowering Calculator was developed
and funded by CSIRO.