Diagnosis and Integrated Management of Emerging Fruit Tree Diseases

Dear Colleagues, 

The exacerbation of plant diseases, both endemic and emerging, is currently a consequence of three main factors: climate change, increased global trade, and the evolution of new pathogen lineages. In the context of climate change, there is increasing evidence that many fungal pathogens are appearing more virulent or aggressive. These pathogens are exploiting their adaptive and invasive capabilities to spread rapidly to new areas and colonize new susceptible hosts. Concurrently, increasingly favorable climatic conditions are facilitating the poleward expansion of tropical and subtropical crops into temperate regions, resulting in the concomitant redistribution and emergence of novel pathogenic species in previously unaffected geographic areas. 

In this context, an increasing incidence of invasive pathogens affecting economically important crops is driving the emergence of novel diseases as well as the re-emergence and adaptive evolution of known pathosystems. Among these, woody fruit crops such as apple, apricot, avocado, citrus, fig, kiwifruit, mango, pear, and pomegranate are subjected to intense biotic stresses resulting from the increasing pressure of numerous canopy and root diseases. These pathosystems often exhibit highly complex symptomatology and etiology, with multiple simultaneous attacks by canopy- and root-infecting pathogens causing symptoms such as foliar lesions, fruit rot, cankers, root rot, and rapid or progressive canopy decline. The complex and multifactorial nature of these emerging diseases makes them extremely difficult to diagnose and manage using conventional methods. 

This Special Issue will cover all aspects of emerging diseases affecting deciduous and evergreen fruit trees, including citrus and exotic species, with particular emphasis on those caused by fungi and oomycetes. Special attention will be given to new disease diagnostic methods and the development of innovative experimental control strategies, including biological and integrated approaches. 

Understanding how to promptly diagnose these diseases is a key first step toward developing novel solutions aimed at protecting the health of woody fruit crops.

Dr. Carlo Bregant
Dr. Alessandra Benigno
Guest Editors

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• emerging diseases
• fungi
• oomycetes
• diagnosis
• biocontrol