Challenging applications for multi-element analysis by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy in agriculture: A review

Toxic metal contamination and nutritious elements detection are two main issues in agriculture, as these relate to the development of agriculture and human health. Among the investigated techniques, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has the potential to become a fast and effective analytical tool for the application in agriculture. Herein is a review of the recent developments and applications of LIBS in the field of agriculture. We discussed the LIBS instruments and quantitative analytical methods, and introduced signal enhancement methods for expanding the elements detection capability. For detailed aspects of applications, we reviewed the recent progress in soil, plants, agricultural products and food. To solve the severe “matrix effect” problem and to meet high demands in agriculture, we recommended the development of robust and practical LIBS instruments, exploiting the chemometric methods and signal enhancement methods for quantitative analysis.