Abstract: Ridge cultivation is one of the important farming methods in China, with long history and obvious advantages. Four main ridge cultivation patterns, including traditional ridge cultivation, ridge cultivation combined with collecting rainwater, raising temperature and maintaining moisture, laddertype ridge cultivation, and ridge cultivation with wide beds were formed following thousands of years of evolution. We summarized the development history, types, characteristics, and applications of ridge cultivation, as well as the research on crop yields, crop growth characteristics, farmland ecological environments, water use, and biological diversity under the ridge cultivation system. We further prospected the research of ridge cultivation in terms of longterm importance and systematicness, regional and varietal adaptability, agronomy integrated with mechanization, land use and maintenance, and integrating animal husbandry into crop producing farms, aiming to fully tap the production potential of ridge cultivation and provide theoretical supports for improving the quality and efficiency as well as the sustainable development of agriculture.

Key words: ridge cultivation, crop yield, farmland eco-environment, water use.