Development and Application of Non-chemical Methods for Management of Crop Diseases

廿一世紀的農業己由過去注重化學農藥和化學肥料的經營模式改變為減少使用或不使用化學農藥和化學肥料的經營模式。這種注重環境保護的經營理念，迫使很多國家都在尋找不使用化學農藥的新耕種方法，其中一項就是提倡有機作物栽培。在有機作物栽培的制度下，開發有效的非農藥病害防治技術有其必要性和重要性。許多文獻報告顯示健康種子，抗病品種，輪作栽培和生物防治等非農藥病害防治方法都具有開發和應用的價值。但是這些技術的研發和應用可能遭遇到的瓶頸，往往會使研發技術失敗或無法推展。例如輪作試驗和抗病育種等都是屬於長期性的研究，如果沒有政府的主導和支持，一定無法順利執行。又如把基因轉殖技術應用在作物抗病育種是一極有前景的新技術，但是有關這方面的研發和應用尚無法被農民和社會大衆接受。同樣的，在環境保護的經營理念下，作物病害生物防治也被認為是一種極有應用潛能的方法。過去二、三十年來，雖然有一些生物防治菌被開發成為商業產品，但是它們的應用仍然不普遍。由此可見每一項非農藥病害防治技術的研發過程也一定要對該技術的風險詳細加以研究和評估，才能判斷該技術推廣應用的潛能。例如研發一生物防治劑，除了瞭解該製劑的防病效果之外，也要瞭解該產品對農業生態環境以及人畜安全等之影響。風險越小的技術，應用的可能性則越大。 Due to environmental concerns, the use of non-chemical methods for control of crop diseases has become a norm for agricultural practice in the 21st century. Organic farming is considered a viable alternative to conventional agriculture as it restricts the use of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers for crop production. Non-chemical methods for control of crop diseases such as pathogen-free seeds, disease resistance, crop rotation and biological control are of great potential for application in organic farming systems. However, bottle necks exist in the development and application of these technologies. For example, crop rotation is a good disease control strategy but there are no incentives to invest in this type of long-term research by government institutes or private agencies. Although research on biological control of plant diseases has been active over five decades, there are still very few examples on commercialization and practical application of these technologies. This review focused the discussion on prospect and potential of these non-chemical control technologies for organic farming, with special emphasis on problems associated with the development and application of these technologies