Abstract:[Objective]In order to study runoff distribution and soil and water conservation benefits of slope cropland with different planting patterns in dry-hot valley, and to provide scientific basis for the construction of water and soil conservation orchards in the Jinsha River dry-hot valley.[Methods] An in-situ runoff plot monitoring was used, and two typical planting patterns of fruit trees in dry hot valley slope fields were selected for study: monoculture (grapes, dates, and stylosanthes) and fruit-grass intercropping (grapes+stylosanthes, dates+stylosanthes), the bare land was used as a control. The differences in surface runoff, subsurface flow, and soil erosion between different crops and planting patterns were compared to explore the runoff allocation mechanism of different planting patterns and evaluate the water and soil conservation benefits of different planting patterns. [Results]The results showed that surface runoff was dominant in dry-hot valley under different cropping patterns and bare land runoff(53.2% ~ 94.07%), Rainfall amount, rainfall intensity, and vegetation coverage were the key factors affecting soil erosion in the dry hot valley slope cropland. Different planting patterns regulated the distribution of runoff in deep soil layers to significantly reduce surface runoff (50.79%~89.70%) and sediment runoff (54.66%~77.13%). The 50 cm and 100 cm interflow of the fruit-grass intercropping pattern were higher than those of other patterns. The runoff reduction (78.53%, 72.54%), sediment reduction (71.76%, 63.21%) benefits of the fruit-grass intercropping pattern (dates+stylosanthes, grapes+stylosanthes) were significantly higher than those of the monoculture pattern. [Conclusion]The fruit-grass composite intercropping system achieves the redistribution of rainfall runoff through the mechanism of directing surface runoff into the deep soil, , thus bringing into play better soil and water conservation benefits.