Botryosphaeriaceae spp. have a cosmopolitan distribution and a wide range of plant hosts. Over the last 15 years, worldwide, 21 species of this family have been associated with grapevine trunk diseases that cause cankers and dieback on grapevines. Here, we surveyed vineyards of Vitis vinifera ‘Lambrusco’, ‘Sangiovese’, and ‘Montepulciano’ in three areas of the Foggia province (Cerignola, Foggia, and San Severo) in southern Italy. Wood samples from grapevines showing general decline, dieback, cankers, and wood and foliar discoloration yielded 344 fungal isolates identified as Botryosphaeriaceae spp.Aphylogenetic study combining internal transcribed spacer and translation elongation factor 1-a sequences of 60 representative isolates identified nine botryosphaeriaceous species: Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diplodia corticola, D. mutila, D. seriata,Dothiorella iberica, Do. sarmentorum, Lasiodiplodia citricola, L. theobromae, and Neofusicoccum parvum. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that all nine species cause canker and dieback of grapevines. However, this is the first report of L. citricola as causal agent of wood cankers and dieback of grapevine. To date, including L. citricola, there are 25 botryosphaeriaceous species associated with V. vinifera worldwide, of which 12 have been reported for grapevines in Italy.

The genus Biscogniauxia is paraphyletic to Xylariaceae, and includes at least 52 species to date that are mainly pathogens of dicotyledonous angiosperm trees. Most of these are forest trees, such as Acacia, Acer, Alnus, Eucalyptus, Fraxinus, Populus, Quercus and other species of minor importance. Biscogniauxia species have been reported as endophytes or secondary invaders that attack only stressed plants. During a survey in Rosaceae orchards in southern Italy, several charcoal cankers were observed and stroma samples were collected. A collection of 31 Biscogniauxia isolates were analyzed. Their phylogenetic relationships were determined through study of internal transcribed spacer, β-tubulin and actin gene sequences. Combining morphological, culture and molecular data, a new species of Biscogniauxia is described here as B. rosacearum. This new species is isolated for the first time from Rosaceae hosts in Apulia. The pathogenicity tests show that it causes symptoms on stems when artificially inoculated, and produces stromata on the bark surface.

Severe decline of olive trees was observed in the Lecce province, Apulia (Italy), and received the name ‘complesso del disseccamento rapido dell’olivo’ (olive rapid decline complex). Affected plants showed leaf scorch symptoms and dieback of twigs, branches and even of the whole plant. Similar symptoms, unusual for the area, have also been observed in other Apulian localities (Cerignola, Foggia, Canosa di Puglia, and Andria). Three fungal species were associated with the symptoms: Phaeoacremonium aleophilum, Neofusicoccum parvum, and Pleurostomophora richardsiae. The latter is the first report of this fungal species infecting olives. In the Lecce province, the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa also was detected from affected olive trees. Xylella fastidiosa is a quarantine agent in Europe that had been previously reported in the Mediterranean region, but did not spread probably because of the lack of a vector. Present findings suggest that this fundamental condition has now been met.

Young grapevine plants with decline and wood necrosis symptoms were collected from vineyards and nurseries in the Apulia and Molise regions, Italy, from 2013 to 2015. Isolations of fungi were prepared from 45 diseased grapevine plants, and the cultures were identified. Several species commonly associated with Petri disease, Botryosphaeria dieback, and black foot disease were isolated. A detailed study was carried out, and 182 isolates resembling Cylindrocarpon-like asexual forms were identified through morphological characterisation and DNA analysis of internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2 of the rRNA gene and the partial β-tubulin gene. Dactylonectria torrensensis and Ilyonectria liriodendri were identified based on morphological features and the partial histone 3 gene, so these fungi can be defined as the causal agents of black foot on grapevine for the first time in Italy. Thelonectria blackeriella is also described as a new species, through morphological characterisation and multigenic analysis using sequence data for five loci (large subunit RNA, internal transcribed spacers, β-tubulin, actin, RNA polymerase II subunit 1). This new species was associated with black foot symptoms according to preliminary pathogenicity tests, with representative isolates of each of the three species. Pathogenicity tests showed that these species can cause black streaking in the wood of 1-year-old grapevine rootstock shoots. The identification of D. torresensis, I. liriodendri and T. blackeriella from young grapevine plants and rooted rootstock highlights the importance of black foot disease in Italy, which has previously been overlooked.

Six Phaeoacremonium species (spp.) were isolated from symptomatic wood of olive trees (Olea europea) in Apulia (southern Italy) that showed crown wilt and twig and branch dieback. These Phaeoacremonium spp. were identified according to their morphological characteristics and analyses of partial sequences of the actin and β- tubulin genes. Combining these culture, morphological and molecular data, three Phaeoacremonium spp. were isolated that are already known to be responsible for severe decline of olive in Apulia, Phaeoacremonium aleophilum, Phaeoacremonium alvesii and Phaeoacremonium parasiticum, together with three other Phaeoacremonium spp. that are associated for the first time with wilt, decline and dieback of olive orchards in Italy and worldwide: Phaeoacremonium italicum, Phaeoacremonium sicilianum and Phaeoacremonium scolyti. To understand and to confirm their involvement in wilt and decline of olive trees, pathogenicity assays were performed on shoots of young olive plants. The data indicate that all six of these Phaeoacremonium spp. can cause discoloration, necrotic wood, and death of shoots, although different levels of virulence were observed, with Pm. italicum, Pm. aleophilum and Pm. sicilianum producing greater necrotic lesions than the other Phaeoacremonium spp. investigated here.

To date, at least 42 Phaeoacremonium species are known throughout the world. These fungal pathogens are responsible for several syndromes that occur in wood of different hosts, 27 of which have been associated with decline and dieback diseases or esca of grapevine, and have been abundantly isolated from necrotic wood of grapevines showing Petri and esca disease in vineyards worldwide. During a survey carried out in five vineyards of the grapevine cultivar ‘Italia’, several symptomatic samples were collected. A collection of 28 Phaeoacremonium isolates was analyzed. The phylogenetic relationships of the isolates were determined through the study of the β-tubulin and actin gene sequences. Combining morphological, culture and molecular data, three known Phaeoacremonium spp. were found, namely Pm. aleophilum, Pm. parasiticum and Pm. scolyti. One new species is described. Phaeoacremonium italicum can be identified by the common occurrence of bundles of up to 13, conidiophores with up to seven septa, occasionally branched, percurrent rejuvenation, and predominantly phialides of type II. This novel species is thus isolated for the first time, from grapevine in Apulia (southern Italy).

In a recent survey of olive groves in the Canosa di Puglia, Cerignola and Foggia areas of southern Italy a serious decline of olive trees was seen. The symptoms comprised a general decline of the trees beginning with foliar browning and leaf drop, wilting of apical shoots, die-back of twigs and branches, and brown streaking under the bark of the trunk, branches and twigs. In more advanced stages of the disease necroses and cankers were observed on the bark. The symptoms were similar to those caused by Verticillium wilt, but morphological and molecular analyses revealed the presence of Pleurostomophora richardsiae, Phaeoacremonium aleophilum and various genera and species in the Botryosphaeriaceae. Pathogenicity tests carried out on young shoots showed that Pl. richardsiae, Pm. aleophilum and Neofusicoccum parvum were pathogenic and capable of causing brown wood streaking. Since Pl. richardsiae was the most aggressive of these three fungi and frequently it was the only one isolated from diseased trees it was considered to be a primary cause of the decline. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Pl. richardsiae as a pathogen of olive trees.

Plectosphaerella cucumerina, most frequently encountered in its Plectosporium state, is well known as a pathogen of several plant species causing fruit, root and collar rot, and collapse. It is considered to pose a serious threat to melon (Cucumis melo) production in Italy. In the present study, an intensive sampling of diseased cucurbits as well as tomato and bell pepper was done and the fungal pathogens present on them were isolated. Phylogenetic relationships of the isolates were determined through a study of ribosomal RNA gene sequences (ITS cluster and D1/D2 domain of the 28S rRNA gene). Combining morphological, culture and molecular data, six species were distinguished. One of these (Pa. cucumerina) is already known. Four new species are described as Plectosphaerella citrullae, Pa. pauciseptata, Pa. plurivora and Pa. ramiseptata. Acremonium cucurbitacearum is shown to be a synonym of Nodulisporium melonis and is transferred to Plectosphaerella as Plectosphaerella melonis comb. nov. A further three known species of Plectosporium are recombined in Plectosphaerella

Pleurostomophora richardsiae (Nannf. apud Melin & Nannf.) L. Mostert, W. Gams & Crous was previously known mainly as a human pathogen. However, more recently this fungus has been isolated from wood tissue of grapevines that show Petri and esca disease symptoms in California (USA) and South Africa. During an assessment carried out in southern Italy, the abundant presence of this fungus was demonstrated by morphological, cultural and molecular means. Pleurostomophora richardsiae was isolated from sub-cortical wood patches and streaking of trunks and cordons of grapevine cultivars that showed decline and dieback symptoms. To understand its putative pathogenic role, pathogenicity tests were conducted in greenhouse experiments, where young grapevine plants of two cultivars were artificially inoculated with two isolates each of Pl. richardsiae, Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Phaeoacremonium aleophilum. Within 130 d, all three fungi produced brown streaking in both grapevine cultivars. The L. theobromae and Pl. richardsiae isolates were the most aggressive. Although the Pm. aleophilum isolates were pathogenic, they induced less severe wood streaking than the other two fungi. Therefore, Pl. richardsiae is considered a fungal pathogen of grapevine. All three fungal species were re-isolated from discolored tissue of all inoculated shoots, thus fulfilling Koch’s postulates.

A study was carried out on Rosellinia necatrix attack on young woody plants, as possibly affected by selected soil features under three water regimes. Six different soil systems representing five agro-environments and one forest in the Puglia Region (southern Italy – Mediterranean climate) were compared. R. necatrix attack on sweet cherry trees was simulated using artificial inoculum and saplings of Prunus mahaleb, the most widely used rootstock of sweet and sour cherries, monitored during the spring period. Soil features significantly influenced disease score, which did not differ from one water regime to another, even though disease level in the different soils was affected by water content. Rosellinia mahaleb saplings grown in forest soil showed the highest disease score, which differed significantly from that observed in all the agricultural soils tested in this study. Amongst these, disease score was lower in sandy soils than in soils that were richer in loamy fraction.

Delineando le sintomatologie più diffuse, correlando i sintomi esterni sulle foglie a quelli interni sul legno, si è cercata una diretta associazione tra i sintomi e le specie fungine isolate dai tessuti sintomatici. Accanto agli agenti noti è stata rilevata e associata al complesso del mal dell’esca Pleurostomophora richardsiae, prima d’ora segnalata solo in Sud Africa