Leveraging web-based tool for phenological data management in climate-sensitive fruit crops like mango

Abstract: Phenological studies play a crucial role in understanding mango flowering dynamics across diverse climates. However, managing the extensive data generated from observations using the modified BBCH scale poses significant challenges. To address this, we developed a web-based tool in PHP to efficiently manage mango phenology data. This tool aids researchers in organizing phenological data on a timescale by decoding phenophases and presenting them as images, facilitating data summarization through frequency tables of different phenophases. Additionally, the tool incorporates a module that simultaneously depicts phenophases according to the BBCH scale and as a line graph, providing a clear representation of flowering phenology dynamics. The primary objective of this tool is to provide computational assistance to researchers working on mango phenology, accessible worldwide through the link (https://hortportal.org/mangifera_res/site/phenology/). It enables data collected in an Excel sheet in a standard format to be depicted as a series of small images, facilitating the correction or cleaning of raw data. The corrected data file can then be utilized to calculate frequencies and generate an Excel sheet for developing graphs using graphical software. Furthermore, the tool features a built-in module for creating graphs with selective phenophases, allowing simultaneous selection of different phenophases for a line graph depiction, indicating their duration and time of peak occurrence.