Shoot blight of Pinus halepensis Mill. In the Italian peninsula.

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) is a Mediterranean tree which is found in Italy in both natural and cultivated stands. This species is affected by a shoot blight and needle diseases caused by several fungi such as Brunchorstia pinea, Sphaeropsis sapinea, Lophodermium seditiosum, Thyriopsis halepensis, Cronartium flaccidum, Melampsora pinitorqua, Cyclaneusma minus, Cenangium ferruginosum, Pestalotiopsis funerea and Syrococcus conigenus. In some coastal areas shoot blight and crown reddening caused by wind-borne sea aerosol have also been observed. All these diseases are briefly described, taking into account the environmental conditions under which they chiefly arise.