{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,27]],"date-time":"2026-06-27T00:22:43Z","timestamp":1782519763815,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":91,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757894400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Agritech National Research Center","award":["CUP: H93C22000440007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CUP: H93C22000440007"]}]},{"name":"European Union Next-Generation EU (PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR)\u2014MISSIONE 4 COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.4\u2014D.D. 1032 17\/06\/2022, CN00000022)","award":["CUP: H93C22000440007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CUP: H93C22000440007"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Fig (Ficus carica) orchards in the Salento peninsula (southeastern Apulia region, Italy) are increasingly affected by decline syndromes whose etiology remains poorly resolved. In this paper, we provide a first characterization of a complex disease outbreak, integrating field surveys, fungal isolation, molecular phylogenetics, and pathogenicity assays. Symptomatic trees displayed chlorosis, defoliation, cankers, vascular discoloration, and wilting, frequently associated with bark beetle galleries. Mycological analyses revealed a diverse assemblage of fungi, dominated by Botryosphaeriaceae (including Neofusicoccum algeriense, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae), the Fusarium solani species complex (notably Neocosmospora perseae), and Ceratocystis ficicola. While C. ficicola was isolated with lower frequency, its recovery from adult beetles\u2014including Cryphalus dilutus\u2014supports a role in insect-mediated dissemination in addition to soilborne infection. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that N. algeriense and N. perseae, together with C. ficicola, caused severe vascular lesions and wilting, confirming their contribution to fig decline. By contrast, other Fusarioid strains showed no pathogenicity, consistent with their role as latent or stress-associated pathogens. This study provides the first evidence that N. algeriense and N. perseae act as pathogenic agents on fig, highlights their interaction with C. ficicola within a multifactorial decline syndrome, and identifies dual epidemiological pathways involving both soil\/root infection and insect-facilitated dissemination via beetles such as C. dilutus. These findings redefine fig decline in the Salento peninsula (southern Italy) as a multifactorial disease rather than a single-pathogen outbreak, with significant implications for diagnosis, epidemiology, and integrated management strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14182865","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T11:51:43Z","timestamp":1757937103000},"page":"2865","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Unveiling a Disease Complex Threatening Fig (Ficus carica L.) Cultivation in Southern Italy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Wassim","family":"Habib","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro di Ricerca, Formazione e Sperimentazione in Agricoltura\u2014Basile Caramia (CRSFA), Via Cisternino 281, 70010 Locorotondo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariangela","family":"Carlucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Bari\u2014Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165\/A, 70126 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0213-1664","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Cavalieri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro di Ricerca, Formazione e Sperimentazione in Agricoltura\u2014Basile Caramia (CRSFA), Via Cisternino 281, 70010 Locorotondo, Italy"},{"name":"Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante\u2014CNR, Via Amendola 122\/D, 70126 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cecilia","family":"Carbotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Bari\u2014Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165\/A, 70126 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8273-0052","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Franco","family":"Nigro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro di Ricerca, Formazione e Sperimentazione in Agricoltura\u2014Basile Caramia (CRSFA), Via Cisternino 281, 70010 Locorotondo, Italy"},{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Bari\u2014Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165\/A, 70126 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1372","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1125910","article-title":"Early domesticated fig in the Jordan Valley","volume":"312","author":"Kislev","year":"2006","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"113","article-title":"The fig: Botany, horticulture, and breeding","volume":"34","author":"Flaishman","year":"2008","journal-title":"Hortic. 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