Disseccamenti da Sirococcus strobilinus sul pino d'Aleppo in Toscana e in Puglia

The presence of Sirococcus strobilinus (Deuteromycotina, Coelomycetes) on trees affected by shoot blight and top dying is reported for the first time in Italy on Pinus halepensis. This fungus causes shoot blight and seedling mortality on conifers of the temperate zone. Symptoms were observed during the Springs of 1997 and 1998, in inland hilly woods located in Central and Southern Italy, on P. halepensis adult trees (province of Florence) and natural regeneration (province of Bari). S. strobilinus pycnidia were observed on dead twigs, needles and male flowers. The fungus was probably favoured by the particularly humid and rainy spring season, but it is likely that late frost and low light intensity contributed to the appearance of the symptoms. Observations conducted in vivo and in vitro on some morphological features of S. strobilinus revealed differences between isolates from P. halepensis (Central and Southern Italy) and Picea abies (Northern Italy), relating to the size of conidia, the cultural characteristics and the radial growth of colonies on PDA.