Abstract: The willingness to adopt orchard cover cropping in the Danjiangkou Reservoir area, as well as its influencing mechanisms, was evaluated through a structured questionnaire survey conducted from January to June 2025 across six townships involving 216 fruit growers. Data encompassed farmer characteristics, orchard site conditions, technical cognition, policy awareness, and service support. Results indicated that 48.1% of respondents expressed clear willingness to implement cover cropping, 22.2% exhibited conditional acceptance, and 29.6% reported unwillingness. Logistic regression identified site conditions, cover-cropping awareness, policy awareness, technical support, and household labor availability as significant positive determinants of adoption willingness. Structural equation modeling further demonstrated that policy and technical support exerted indirect effects on adoption by strengthening awareness and enhancing management willingness, with good model fit (R²=0.401, Goodness-of-fit=0.523). Primary barriers included perceived management risk (35.3%), mowing costs (28.0%), and concerns regarding pests and diseases (21.7%). These findings highlight the importance of coordinated extension strategies, including expanded field demonstrations and targeted training, promotion of high-quality grass species and integrated “cover cropping+livestock” systems, strengthened financial incentives and technical trusteeship, and development of site-specific implementation pathways. Integration of orchard cover cropping into regional ecological protection frameworks and green agricultural development initiatives is essential for advancing sustainable production in the reservoir catchment.