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The Macrophomina genus is included in the Botryosphaeriaceae family and represents one of the most spread pathogens all over the globe thus, it is able to infect more than 700 plant species, including economically relevant crops. In this scenario, fungi belonging to Botryosphaeriaceae are worthy of mentioning since they represent a huge family, including necrotrophic fungi, which have been found in different areas of tropical and temperate regions. The introduction of novel pathogens in agriculture systems, in which they are not present so far, opens the way to undiscovered problems, beyond the loss of yields and related to the ineffectiveness of the normal control system employed to fight the infections. One of the most observed phenomena linked with climate change is the spread of plant pathogens, originally confined to specific ecological niches.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on Macrophomina phaseolina from chickpeas in Italy. The multidisciplinary approach allows us to increase the knowledge about this emerging pathogen. The experiments confirmed the pathogenicity of the isolate CREA OF 189.2 on chickpea, while host range highlighted the polyphagous nature of this strain thus, symptoms were reported on lentils, common bean and cantaloupe. Phylogenetic analyses were performed comparing Macrophomina strains coming from different geographic areas and hosts. Morphological and molecular characterization was carried out and pathogenicity tests were performed. Here, Macrophomina, causing crown charcoal rot in chickpeas, was isolated from symptomatic plants in Cicerale (SA), Campania, South Italy. Among them, Macrophomina phaseolina is a necrotrophic fungus, responsible for several plant diseases, including the soft stem rot of common bean, crown rot on strawberry and charcoal rot of several legumes. Botryosphaeriaceae represents a massive fungal family, containing a huge number of plant pathogens, which are able to infect several hosts. Climate change has led to the spread of plant pathogens in novel environments, causing dramatic crop losses and economic damage.