Classical measurements for estimating water status in plants using oven drying or pressure chambers are tedious and time-consuming. In the field, changes in radiation conditions may further influence the measurements and thus require fast measurements. The possibility to detect drought stress in wheat with laser-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and hyperspectral measurements at canopy level under temperate field conditions was tested in this work. Three drought scenarios were established by using a removable rainout shelter. A laser-induced chlorophyll fluorescence sensor and a hyperspectral sensor were mounted on a metal carrier about 2 m above the canopy. Our results show that the canopy water content (%) was closely related to chlorophyll fluorescence at 690 nm, 730 nm and to the biomass index for all cultivars (R²- values) with R² ≥ 0.82***. A closer relationship between spectral measurements and canopy water content and canopy water mass was found than with leaf water potential. Selected spectral indices were significantly related to canopy water content and canopy water mass (R²= 0.53*** – 0.96***). Two spectral indices and the fluorescence intensity at 690 nm were significantly related to the leaf water potential (R²= 0.58* – 0.83** and R² ≥ 0.62). Our data show that non-destructive methods may enable to assess water status information.