The Water and Crops research group at CIDE is seeking to sponsor a candidate for the Juan de la Cierva (JdC) postdoctoral call from the Spanish National Research Agency (AEI).

The Water and Crops research group aims to study Mediterranean agroecosystems, focusing on the efficient use of natural resources, mainly water, to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of agricultural activity, focusing on the following lines of research:

• • Study of agricultural practices, such as deficit irrigation, shading, training systems, organic and inorganic mulching, to optimise water use efficiency and improve crop quality, especially in vegetables, fruit trees and vineyards.
  • Determination of evapotranspiration using different approaches.
  • Precision irrigation based on soil and/or plant water status, using field observations and remote sensing techniques.
  • Remote sensing techniques to determine water and energy balances and detect water stress in crops.
  • Soil management strategies and their influence on plant water relations.
  • Use of saline water for irrigation. Effects on the soil-crop system.
  • Nitrogen fertilisation: sustainable management to minimise the risks of nitrogen leaching.
  • Quantification of water and carbon balances in agricultural ecosystems.
  • Viticulture: studies on training systems, soil management, genetic material and phenotyping based on remote sensing techniques.

The successful candidate will join a highly dynamic research environment, with the opportunity to interact with other research teams in Spain and abroad (e.g. Italy, Portugal, and the United States).

Applicants must complete their own application, but they also need the sponsorship of a research institution and the mentorship of an established researcher. Our research group is willing to shortlist the most outstanding candidates to support them in the application process.

Application instructions:

Those wishing to apply for a JdC postdoctoral fellowship under the sponsorship of the Water and Crops research group (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GVA) should send an email to Ramón López Urrea (lopez-urrea@csic.es) with their curriculum vitae. Deadline: 25th November 2025.

To apply, candidates must have obtained their PhD between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025.

For more details on this call, please visit the following link: JDC 2025