Speaking at the event held earlier this month at Processors & Growers Research Organisation's headquarters in Thornhaugh, near Peterborough, McKenzie said growers should not feel despondent about the number of pesticides being removed from the shelves because several new crop protection products are currently going through the approval process.

These products, he said, should be on the market within the next few years - meaning that grow- ers can expect to have some new control options available to them in the near future.

He added: "Every major research and development company is working hard on its herbicide portfolio, which is probably where your biggest headaches are."

McKenzie pointed out that products in the pipeline include an azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil formulation that Syngenta hopes will be approved by 2011 or 2012 for protection against downy mildew and chocolate spot. It also hopes the same formulation will be approved by 2012/13 for the treatment of ring spot, Alternaria and powdery mildew.

He added that a product that combines mandipropamid and mancozeb and best known as the Revus potato treatment is expected to be approved for use as a downy mildew treatment on Allium crops by 2011/12. This combination, said McKenzie, "will be an absolutely fantastic product if we can get it registered - in field trials there's been nothing better".

Meanwhile, an insecticide named Emamectin could be available to growers by 2011/12. This product can be used to control caterpillar larvae and is expected to be made available to the top fruit market as early as the end of this year.McKenzie said: "We are looking to expand it into vegetables. It will give you fewer headaches in terms of MRL exceedances."

Another product, TMX - a seed treatment for weevil, aphids and thrips - is expected to roll onto the market in the near future.

Syngenta's Henk van der Maarel said TMX had been a primary focus of the company's research for the past five years "so now the first round of developments are coming onto the market".

Van der Maarel told growers that TMX 70WS was expected to be registered in the UK for use on salad crops by the end of this year to give aphid protection to lettuce and endive varieties - including iceberg lettuce, butterhead lettuce, Batavia lettuce and curly endives.

He added that TMX was also expected to be approved in Europe next year on some vegetable crops and he was hopeful that "other countries will follow through mutual recognition". Meanwhile, pea growers can expect TMX to be available to them next year.