Canola production is undergoing a shift from direct seeding to transplanting. There are also serious global challenges caused by zinc (Zn) deficiency in most crops. The aim of this study was to evaluate the crop establishment methods (direct seeding and transplanting) along with foliar application of Zn on phenology, physiology, and fatty acid (FA) profile of canola under semiarid conditions. The treatments were crop establishment methods at three levels (direct sedding, 2-leaf transplanting, 4-leaf transplanting) and foliar application of Zn in two levels (control and 5 g L⁻¹ ZnSO⁴) during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 growing seasons. Transplanting reached the stem elongation and flowering stages in a short period compared to direct seeding. The 4-leaf transplanting practice represented the increased plant height, number of silique per plant, and seed yield compared to 2-leaf transplanting and direct seeding. The significant effect of Zn was only observed in 4-leaf transplanting with respect to the increase of plant height, number of silique per plant, seed yield, and decline of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The maximum total soluble sugar (TSS) and seed oil content were observed under the 4-leaf transplanting practice. The main FA profile was oleic acid (65.07–67.13%) followed by linoleic acid (16.37–18%), linolenic acids (6.63–7.92%), palmitic acid (4.10–4.52%), steric acid (1.77–2.22%), and erucic acid (0.21–0.25%). Heat map analysis showed the highest variation of branch number, silique number, PAR, and TSS under different copying systems. We suggest 4-leaf transplanting with Zn application to meet the optimum productivity of canola under semiarid conditions.

双低油菜籽生产正在从直接播种转向移植。在大多数作物中，锌（Zn）缺乏也造成了严峻的全球挑战。这项研究的目的是评估在半干旱条件下双低油菜籽的物候，生理和脂肪酸（FA）特征，以及作物叶片施用锌的方法（直接播种和移栽）。处理方法是在三个级别（直接播种，2-叶移植，4-叶移植）上进行作物定植，并在两个级别（对照和5 g L ^-1 ZnSO ⁴）下叶面施用Zn。）在2017–2018年和2018–2019年生长季节。与直接播种相比，移植在短时间内达到了茎的伸长和开花期。与2叶移植和直接播种相比，4叶移植实践代表了更高的株高，单株角果数量和种子产量。仅在四叶移植中观察到锌的显着影响，这与植物高度的增加，单株角果的数量，种子的产量以及光合有效辐射（PAR）的降低有关。在四叶移植实践中观察到最大总可溶性糖（TSS）和种子油含量。FA的主要特征是油酸（65.07–67.13％），其次是亚油酸（16.37–18％），亚麻酸（6.63–7.92％），棕榈酸（4.10–4.52％），硬脂酸（1.77–2.22％） ， 和芥酸（0.21-0.25％）。热图分析显示，在不同的复制系统下，分支数，角果数，PAR和TSS的变化最大。我们建议使用锌的4叶移植来满足半干旱条件下双低油菜籽的最佳生产力。