<p>Importance of wheat in global food industry and agriculture hardly can be overestimated, so the yield and quality of wheat grains are the focus of agricultural research. The moisture content (MC) greatly affects wheat in the post-harvest period and determines grains longevity, storage capacity, and germination ability. Hence, the impact of drying on the quality of the final product must be thoroughly evaluated. This study investigates the effect of different drying technologies on the state of water in wheat grains using NMR relaxation and diffusion measurements. For this aim the wheat samples were subjected to natural, thermal, and sorption drying and then the relaxation time T₂ and self-diffusion coefficients were measured against MC. NMR relaxation data revealed the presence of several dynamic states of water determined by degrees of binding with the local molecular environment. PFG NMR showed that water molecules undergo both hindered diffusion in open pores and restricted diffusion within spatial constraints (~ 150–200&#xa0;nm), formed by lamellae in starch granules. During gradual increase of MC from 12 to 20%, grains keep the balance of water between different dynamic states, simultaneously thickening the hydration shell of carbohydrates, filling the interlamellar space inside starch granules and macroporous space between them. Falling outside this range either due to excessive drying or moistening breaks the equilibrium and leads to dramatic loss of bound water or extra filling of interlamellar space, respectively. These results demonstrate the advantages of complementary NMR methods combined for extracting valuable information about the water state and dynamics in wheat grains.</p>