In-field optical sensor for a detection of pesticides residues on vegetables - what are possible solutions?

Abstract

The demand for fresh vegetable in Malaysia is increasingly every year to increase the economic benefit of the crop. However, several pesticides have been widely used to control the disease-born pests. Pesticides use can lead to residues in agricultural products which give adverse effect to consumers and environment. Most of the existing technologies for detecting pesticide residue in vegetable were done in a laboratory. This requires destructive method for the sample preparation. Thus, this paper presents the review on possible optical sensor for pesticide residues detection for vegetable industry in Malaysia. The potential applications and limitations of current technologies for in-field application are investigated. The most possible technology for in-field pesticide residue detection on vegetables is identified.