Fungal plant disease in Europe and in the Mediterrean basin

Mycological plant pathology,a branch of plant pathology (phytopathology) studies plant diseases caused by fungi and fungi-like organisms. Although humanity has been concerned with plant diseases since pre-history, phytopathology has first developed into a scientific discipline only during the 19th and 20th centuries. The European and Euro-Mediterranean areas, and the other southern and Eastern areas of the Mediterranean Basin which are dealt with in this chapter, are characterized by large climatic diversity and diverse plant populations, either cultivated or wild. Therefore a large number of fungi may cause numerous plant diseases, which can be widespread or limited in their distribution, and result in more or less severe impact on yield or quality of produce and possibly on the ecosystems. Diagnosis of disease, identification of the pathogen to the level of species or below (race or pathotype) and knowledge of pathogen biology and disease epidemiology are prerequisites for efficient disease management. Disease control options include exclusion of the host from an area (quarantine measures, certification schemes for seed and multiplication plant material), appropriate selection of cultural practices (crop rotation, fertilization, tillage, irrigation systems etc.), use of resistant host cultivars, and the recourse to chemical (fungicides), physical (e.g. soil solarization) and biological control agents. Several organizations, national and international, operate in the European and Mediterranean area in the fields of research, extension, legislation formation and enforcement. New challenges, related to rapid trade intensification and globalization, demographic and socio- economic variations, as well as climate change, are facing the plant protection organization at large. The existing human resources, structures and overall organization suggest that the Region may efficiently face these new challenges, although the support of society and some degree of re-organization will be required to face the rapid evolution of our world