Although slope tillage methods play an important role in controlling water and soil loss, only few studies have investigated the impact of different tillage methods on runoff and sediment yield. This study investigates the effects of tillage methods on initial runoff, infiltration, runoff, and sediment yield using rainfall simulations on loess sloped farmland in China. In order to do this, field experimental plots (10 m × 1.5 m, 5°) with four tillage methods (manual digging (MD), manual hoeing (MH), traditional ploughing (TP), and ridged ploughing (RP) ) were exposed to four rainfall intensities (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mm min-1). The smooth slope (SS) was used as the benchmark. The results showed that compared to SS, the four tillage methods reduced runoff and sediment yield to varying degrees between 2.5%–77.2%, and 2.1%–64.7%, respectively. The runoff and sediment reduction magnitudes on the tilled slope are MD > RP > TP > MH. The correlation between the terrain parameters (average plane curvature, average profile curvature, depression storage, and surface roughness) and sediment yield were also analysed. While the average plan curvature had little effect on slope sediment yield, the other three terrain parameters had a significant negative correlation with sediment yield (r > 0.86), which can be used as a morphological index to predict soil erosion (R 2 > 0.91). Further, the effects of different tillage methods on soil loss using cover management (C) factors in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation was assessed. The results showed that there was an exponential relationship between surface roughness and C factor, and the range of the C factor caused by different tillage methods varied from 0.23–0.97. These results contribute to our knowledge of the effects of different tillage methods on runoff and sediment yield from sloped farmland
