Editing Stone pine (section)

==Pests==
The introduced [[Western conifer seed bug]] (''Leptoglossus occidentalis'') was accidentally imported with timber to northern Italy in the late 1990s from the western US, and has spread across Europe as an invasive pest species since then. It feeds on the sap of developing conifer cones throughout its life, and its sap-sucking causes the developing seeds to wither and misdevelop. It has destroyed most of the pine nut seeds in Italy, threatening ''P.&nbsp;pinea'' in its [[native plant|native]] habitats there.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.theworld.org/2010/10/italy%E2%80%99s-pine-nut-pest/#comment-15095 | title=Italy's pine nut pest | publisher=[[Public Radio International]] | date=20 October 2010 | access-date=20 June 2012 | author=PR | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813134743/http://www.theworld.org/2010/10/italy%e2%80%99s-pine-nut-pest/#comment-15095 | archive-date=13 August 2011 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

''[[Pestalotiopsis pini]]'' (a genus of [[ascomycete]] fungi), was found as an emerging pathogen on ''Pinus pinea'' in Portugal. Evidence of shoot blight and stem necrosis were found in stone pine orchards and urban areas in 2020. The edible pine nut production has been decreasing in the affected area due to several factors, including pests and diseases. The fungus was found on needles, shoots and trunks of ''P.&nbsp;pinea'' and also on ''[[Pinus pinaster|P.&nbsp;pinaster]]''. ''[[Pestalotiopsis]]'' fungal species could represent a threat to the health of pine forests in the Mediterranean basin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Silva |first1=Ana Cristina |last2=Diogo |first2=Eugénio |last3=Henriques |first3=Joana |last4=Ramos |first4=Ana Paula |last5=Sandoval-Denis |first5=Marcelo |last6=Crous |first6=Pedro W. |last7=Bragança |first7=Helena |title=''Pestalotiopsis pini'' sp. nov., an Emerging Pathogen on Stone Pine (''Pinus pinea'' L.) |journal=Forests |date=2020 |volume=11 |issue=8 |page=805 |doi=10.3390/f11080805 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Fore...11..805S |hdl=10400.5/20420 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>