| This study investigated the water-conserving and yield-increasing effects of alternative technologies to PE film mulching in the dryland area of the Loess Plateau, aiming to provide technical support for improving maize yield and environmentally sound development in this region. A field experiment was conducted with bare land (no mulching) as the control, comparing four cultivation patterns—double-ridge furrow with biodegradable film, double-ridge furrow with PE film, V-shaped furrow with PE film, and V-shaped furrow with biodegradable film—in terms of maize leaf area index (LAI), dry matter accumulation, water consumption patterns, and grain yield. A cost–benefit analysis was also performed. The results showed that biodegradable film, across different cultivation modes, significantly increased LAI and dry matter accumulation compared with bare land, and the effects were generally comparable to those of PE film. The V-shaped furrow (film-reduced mulching) treatment exhibited lower LAI and dry matter accumulation than the double-ridge furrow treatment at the early growth stage, but delayed senescence at later stages. During the sowing to jointing stage, soil water content in the 0–60 cm layer under the V-shaped furrow and biodegradable film treatments was lower than that under the double-ridge furrow and PE film treatments; however, after the onset of the rainy season, soil water content became similar among all mulching treatments. The stage water consumption from sowing to jointing was higher under biodegradable film than under PE film, while the difference between double-ridge furrow and V-shaped furrow was not significant. Compared with the bare-land control, the double-ridge furrow with biodegradable film, double-ridge furrow with PE film, V-shaped furrow with PE film, and V-shaped furrow with biodegradable film treatments increased grain yield by 12.61%, 15.92%, 13.07%, and 13.03%, and improved water use efficiency by 16.83%, 17.19%, 14.10%, and 20.90%, respectively; the differences in yield and WUE between double-ridge furrow and V-shaped furrow mulching were not significant. The comprehensive economic benefit scores for the four mulching treatments were 82.67, 85.50, 80.42, and 80.08, respectively. These findings indicate that micro-topography-based rainwater harvesting and infiltration enhancement facilitate the substitution of biodegradable film for PE film, and the V-shaped furrow film-reduced mulching technology can serve as a viable alternative to full-film mulching in the dryland area of the Loess Plateau. |