ABSTRACTPot culture studies were conducted using two drought‐tolerant and one susceptible cultivar of wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) under three different moisture regimes. Proton spin‐lattice relaxation time,T1, leaf water content, LWC, leaf water potential, Ψ, solute potential, Ψsand turgor potential, Ψpwere measured from 45 to 75 d after sowing at weekly intervals. The three cultivars did not differ significantly in their values of LWC, leaf water potential, and their components in the stressed and unstressed plants; but they did differ significantly in theirT1values both under stressed and unstressed conditions on all days of measurement, with the drought tolerant cultivars having a higherT1compared to the susceptible cultivar. This suggests that leaf waterT1is a better parameter for describing plant water status than the traditional water relation indices. The relation between Ψ andT1was logarithmic, indicating the similarity betweenT1and water activity of the cellula