Firstly, all of us here at TurfPro pass on our deepest sympathies to the friends and families of groundsman Matt Grimstone, and all the victims of Saturday's tragic events at the Shoreham air display.

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An evocative word to the general public is pesticide.

In our organic, environmentally friendly times, it's a word which on the whole will automatically have 'negative' connotations.

But as industry body, the Amenity Forum, are keen to point out, in the control of weeds, pests and diseases "pesticides, used correctly and safely, remain an important component in control and often provide the most cost effective solution."

And currently the turf industry is under pressure with the number of chemical actives that it has available to it for control purposes. Whilst pesticides are just part of an integrated approach to turf management, they remain essential, and as the Amenity Forum said in a statement, "the sector often feels that there is a lack of understanding by government and regulatory bodies on the continued loss of active ingredients in the amenity market and the issues this is already causing and will cause."

They site the example of the two remaining turf insecticides, both of which are currently in the process of being withdrawn from usage.

Chlorpyrifos has already been withdrawn from sale and must be used by 31st August 2015. Imidacloprid will be withdrawn from sale on 30th April 2016 and must be used by 31st October 2016.

The effect which the inability to use these ingredients on sports grounds up and down the country, in terms of unplayable pitches, shouldn't be underestimated.

And one ruling which seems particularly galling for the turf industry is that whilst a particular active ingredient previously used to achieve leatherjacket control on turf is now withdrawn, it can still be used in agriculture. So a farmer's field next door to an amenity football pitch is allowed to keep the pests under control chemically, whilst the groundsman next door, who of course wishes to use an integrated approach but in this case requires the use of a pesticide, is not allowed. That seems quite simply, daft.

Bodies like the Amenity Forum should be congratulated for highlighting these issues and keeping them in the debate. They are holding their annual conference at Leicester City FC on October 15th, and so a visit to hear the key issues being addressed by the experts, would seem most worthwhile.