In mine (Massachusetts) it's been fig rust. Our growing season is very humid, but with lower temps than farther south.

Joe

in Kitchener Ontario, it would be the length (or lack thereof) of the growing season. Average last frost on may 11, average for first frost, oct 1.

Birds and too much rain here in Texas.

Daily winds...dries the soil out too fast.

Short summers with not high enough total heat units in an average year. That leaves many main crop fruit unripe by the time dormancy sets in. Will persevere for the sake of few ripe heavenly fig fruits.

Edit: That is in addition to winter protection in northern Zone 5 where peak low temperatures can be as low as -20F and in some years at -30F some nights and the cellar cannot accommodate all plants.

Birds, Fig Beetles, irrigating.

Birds, fig beetles, and dried fruit beetles.

Not enough figs.

Wind

Non-regional: Physical space; have way too many figs - crowding produces less fruit.

Regional: Over-wintering is a real pain (wish figs were 5-10*F more hardy)...

short season, winter temps.

Also, too many of my fig trees are spindly things with leaves only at the top, no lower structure.   I've got one that grew up 12 inches, turns 90 degrees straight for 20 inches and then another turn 60 degrees up and grew another 10 inches.  Leaves only at the top (and only 4-5 leaves there).  early season trimming prompted the curving.  Fruiting is sparse to non-existant on most potted figs.

~Chills

PS...sorry, the one fig that doesn't give me these problems is the one I have in the ground.  It is full and has dozens of figs on it.  Variety is,sadly, unknown. 

Cold spring, & short season.

Blistering sun, stupid birds, lack of an automatic water drip system.

In Granger (just north of Austin), TX and more or less in order:

Grasshoppers
Lack of Rain
Wind
Overworked soil (used to be corn fields)

~james

South Louisiana,

Birds,
Too much rain at the wrong time of season,
Hurricanes.

Ditto to what ~James said...it is a pitiful site here because of the )*^$#&( grasshoppers!

Birds and adjusting the drip system.  It's either too much or not enough............
Suzi

cool Summer, eainy Spring & Fall.

Where to start. Poor sandy soil, nematodes, heavy rains, high humidity causing excessive rust. So I grow in pots, provide cover from the heavy rains, and try to keep an open format to limit the rust. It is a challenge and my wife thinks I'm nuts. I do love figs.

South East Florida, roughly from West Palm Beach to points south, I live about ten miles inland from the beach and  my climate is substantially wetter than that close to the beach. I have a friend that lives with 1 mile of the water and they get substantially less rain and substantially less problem with rust, they also get more trade winds which keeps fungus problems down a bit... its all about micro climates....

Frank, from Bronx, NYC....

Overwintering, and the false-belief that trees will be unharmed if left without some protections.  Sooner or later, trees will be damaged, or worse.

Short growing/ripening season, with too much gloom, humidity, and drenching rains.

Much the same tune, but just different lyrics.  Too much this...not enough that.

A converse question:  What part of the USA is IDEAL for growing figs?????  Figtopia USA?...where are you?

Frank

Definitely overwintering same as George and Bass. Space is always a problem too and when it comes time to overwinter, it is an even bigger problem.

Now that I live in Arizona my biggest problems are birds and the heat.

Figs too young to fruit

Drought, and having to water all the time

Birds, gophers, ground squirrels, rabbits, rattlers...

Poor native soil

Winds and wildfires

But in general, it's excellent gardening here, and there's no place else I'd want to live. :)