Deficit irrigation is critical to global food production, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions with low precipitation. Given water shortage has threatened agricultural sustainability under the dry-land farming system in China, there is an urgent need to develop effective water-saving technologies. We carried out a field study under two cultivation techniques: (1) the ridge and furrow cultivation model (R); and (2) the conventional flat farming model (F), and three simulated precipitation levels (1, 275 mm; 2, 200 mm; 3, 125 mm) with two deficit irrigation levels (150 and 75 mm). We demonstrated that under the ridge furrow (R) model, rainfall harvesting planting under 150 mm deficit irrigation combined with 200 mm simulated precipitation can considerably increase net photosynthesis rate (Pn), quantum yield of PSⅡ(ΦPSII), electron transport rate (ETR), performance index of photosynthetic PSⅡ(Fv/Fm′), and transformation energy potential of PSⅡ(Fv/Fo). In addition, during the jointing, anthesis and grain-filling stages, the grain and biomass yield in the R model are 18.9 and 11.1％ higher than those in the flat cultivation model, respectively, primarily due to improved soil water contents. The winter wheat fluorescence parameters were significantly positively associated with the photosynthesis, biomass and wheat production. The result suggests that the R cultivation model with irrigation of 150 mm and simulated precipitation of 200 mm is an effective planting method for enhancing Pn, biomass, wheat production, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in dry-land farming areas.