Total or austral summer seasonal rainfall (a and c) and thermal time (b and d) for Pretoria (a and b) and Potchefstroom (c and d) sites for the 2020/2021 (Season 1) and 2021/2022 (Season 2) seasons across planting dates. Planting dates at both sites included November (Nov), January (Jan), and February (Feb); additionally, at the Pretoria site, December (Dec) and March (Mar) were included. Total rainfall and thermal time (Tbase = 6^∘C, Topt = 28^∘C) represent the complete sowing-to-harvest period per planting date.