Dr. Vivek Kumar Singh, Faculty, School of Physics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, delivered an invited talk on “LIBS analysis of rice grains infected by false smut disease (RFS)” in 4th Asian Symposium on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (ASLIBS), held at Qingdao, China during 16-20 October, 2021. Dr. Singh talked about the RFS disease in rice crops of different regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. He talked about the impact of this series disease on the growth and quality of the rice crops.

Further, Dr. Singh highlighted the use and application of laser based technique, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to investigate the elemental and molecular changes occurred in the rice grains and their association with the RFS disease. Dr. Singh’s talk was followed up by a Q&P session, in which the attendees clarified their doubts. Prof. Ronger Zheng, Chair of the Symposium, thanked Dr. Singh for his talk. Prof. Jin Yu, Session Chair and Editor of the Journal Applied Physics B: Laser and Optics, expressed that the session would motivate researchers working in the field of laser technology (LIBS).