GeneralitatCIDECSICUV Logo del portal

Water and crops

 

Research group dedicated to the study of Mediterranean agro-ecosystems, focused on the efficient use of natural resources, mainly water, to contribute to ensure the sustainability and resilience of agricultural activity in a context of climate change. Currently, he is working on the following lines of research:

  • Study of agronomic practices (deficit irrigation, mulching, shading, etc.) with the aim of optimizing water and nutrient use efficiency to improve crop quality, particularly in horticultural crops, fruit trees and vines.
  • Determination of evapotranspiration by different methodologies, as a key variable to optimize water management.
  • Irrigation technologies (subway irrigation, pulse irrigation with low flow drippers, etc.).
  • Precision irrigation scheduling by monitoring the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC), through field observations and remote sensors. 
  • Remote sensing techniques (drones) and remote sensing (satellites) to determine water and energy balances, and detection of water stress in crops.
  • Soil and substrate management practices and their influence on crop water relations. 
  • Use of non-conventional water for irrigation: Effects on the soil-crop system. 
  • Nitrogen fertilization: Sustainable management to minimize leaching risks. 
  • Quantification of water and carbon balances of agricultural eco-systems (water and carbon footprint). 
  • Sustainable viticulture: Irrigation and soil management, conduction systems, vegetation management and load regulation, genetic material (varieties, clones and rootstocks) and phenotyping based on remote sensing techniques.
  • Research on agroecological practices in semi-arid Mediterranean climates: water conservation, soil regeneration, fertility enhancement and promotion of functional biodiversity.
  • Optimization of water resources management in agriculture using remote sensing techniques.
  • Research on fluorescence in agricultural ecosystems, wetlands, and forests.
  • Definition of the Spanish calibration and validation plan for the FLEX-S3 Mission.

 

Relevant articles:

Ferrer-Gallego, R., Buesa, I., García-Esparza, M. J., Álvarez, I., Intrigliolo, D. S., Ramírez-Cuesta, J. M., Lizama, V. 2024. Effects of grapevine canopy leaning on grape composition and wine quality of ‘Bobal’. OENO One, 58(3).

Pereira, L.S., Allen, R.G., Paredes, P., López-Urrea, R., Raes, D., Smith, M., Kilic, A. & Salman, M. 2025. Crop evapotranspiration – Guidelines for computing crop water requirements. Second edition, revised 2025. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper, No. 56 Rev.1. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd6621en

Sánchez-Virosta, A., Gómez-Candón, D., Montoya, F., Pérez-García, Y., Jiménez, V., Martínez-López, J.A., González-Piqueras, J., López-Urrea, R., Sánchez, J.M. 2025. Remote and proximal sensing assessment of water status and its correlation with yield on almond orchards in Southeast Spain. Precision Agriculture, 26,92.

Mirás-Avalos, J.M., Escalona, J.M., Pérez-Álvarez, E.P., Romero, P., Botia, P., Navarro, J., Torres, N., Santesteban, L.G., Uriarte D., Intrigliolo, D.S., Buesa, I. 2024. Upgrading and validating a soil water balance model to predict stem water potential in vineyards. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 359, 110281.

Ramírez-Cuesta, J.M., Intrigliolo, D.S., Lorite, I.J., Moreno, M.A., Vanella, D., Ballesteros, R., Hernández-López, D., Buesa, I. 2023. Determining grapevine water use under different sustainable agronomic practices using METRIC-UAV surface energy balance model. Agricultural Water Management, 281, 108247.

Uriarte, D., Santesteban, L.G., Mirás-Avalos, J.M., Buesa, I., Cancela, J.J., Chacón, J.L., Escalona, J.M., Intrigliolo, D.S., Lampreave, M., Montoro, A., Rivacoba, L., Visconti, F., Yuste, J. and Miranda, C. (2025). Quantifying the Effects of Water Status on Grapevine Vegetative Growth, Yield, and Grape Composition Through a Collaborative Analysis. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 2025(1): 1588228.

 

Researchers on staff

Diego S. Intrigliolo (Research Professor, CSIC); diego.intrigliolo@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5368-5478

Ramón López Urrea (Research Scientist, CSIC); lopez-urrea@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1910-5489

Juan M. Ramírez Cuesta (Senior Scientist, CSIC); jm.ramirez.cuesta@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9459-9912

Amelia Montoro Rodríguez (Senior Scientist, CSIC); amelia.montoro@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3491-6821

 

Contract Researchers

Raul Ferrer Gallego (Ramón y Cajal Researcher); raul.ferrer@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-5334

Ignacio Buesa Pueyo (Researcher CDEIGENT 2023); ibuesa@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2962-2148

Carlos Ballester Lurbe (Ramón y Cajal Researcher); carlos.ballester@csic.es; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6885-0883

Pedro F. Freire García (Predoctoral contract FPI); pedro.freire@csic.es

Marina Pérez Pascual (Predoctoral contract PIF); marina.perez@csic.es

Mar Monreal González (PhD doctoral candidate in Food Science, Technology, and Management); mar.monreal@csic.es

 

CIDE Catalog Water and Crops 2025 (PDF)

 

Biomass determination in horticultural crops Water potential measurements in biotypes of the Bobal grape variety Measures of gas exchange in grapevines