Postdoctoral Fellow | Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) | Spain
Andrés Marzal Blay, PhD, is an agricultural engineer specialising in plant molecular and cellular biology, with a focus on the physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying the adaptation of woody crops to abiotic stress. He completed a co-tutelle doctoral degree between the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) and the Università degli Studi di Palermo (Italy), earning a European PhD with the highest distinction. His thesis provided new insights into the nutritional, hormonal, and genetic factors regulating alternate bearing in citrus, contributing to the understanding of fruit-induced floral inhibition. Dr Marzal has authored five SCI-indexed publications and has disseminated his research through more than fifteen scientific communications, including nine posters and six oral presentations, several as first author. His work has informed the development of cultivation techniques aimed at reducing production losses in major fruit crops, particularly citrus. He has undertaken international research stays at the IBMCP-CSIC and the Università degli Studi di Palermo, fostering collaborations in meristem biology, flowering regulation, and alternate-bearing physiology. His contributions have been recognised through competitive awards, including the Best Poster Award at the XIV International Citrus Congress (ISHS) and the ‘Young Researchers’ Entrepreneurial Potential’ Award from the Valencian Innovation Agency for the project Citrus Caviar. In parallel with his scientific activities, he has participated in higher-education teaching, co-authored a university handbook on citrus cultivation, supervised student research, and served as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals and scientific committees. Dr Marzal is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA) under an INVESTIGO–FEDER contract. His work investigates the impact of climate change on the flowering of species such as persimmon, avocado, and citrus, developing physiological and cultivation strategies to enhance the resilience and sustainability of modern horticultural systems.
Profiles: Google Scholar | Scopus | ORCID | ResearchGate
Featured Publications
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Mesejo, C., Marzal, A., Martínez-Fuentes, A., Reig, C., & Agustí, M. (2021). On how auxin, ethylene and IDA-peptide relate during mature Citrus fruit abscission. Scientia Horticulturae, 278, 109855. Cited by: 19
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Mesejo, C., Marzal, A., Martínez-Fuentes, A., Reig, C., de Lucas, M., Iglesias, D. J., et al. (2022). Reversion of fruit-dependent inhibition of flowering in Citrus requires sprouting of buds with epigenetically silenced CcMADS19. New Phytologist, 233(1), 526–533. Cited by: 18
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Mesejo, C., Lozano-Omeñaca, A., Martínez-Fuentes, A., Reig, C., Gambetta, G., Marzal, A., et al. (2022). Soil-to-fruit nitrogen flux mediates the onset of fruit-nitrogen remobilization and color change in citrus. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 204, 105088. Cited by: 7
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Agustí, M., Martínez-Fuentes, A., Mesejo, C., Marzal, A., & Reig, C. (2024). Expression of carbohydrate-related genes underlying 3, 5, 6-TPA-induced fruitlet abscission in citrus. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 26482. Cited by: 6
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Marzal, A., Cervera, A., Blasco, C., Martínez-Fuentes, A., Reig, C., & Lo Bianco, R. (2025). Influence of stem and bud auxin levels on bud release and flower meristem formation in Citrus. Plant Science / SSRN Preprint (4973539). Cited by: 3