Abstract:A method for the determination of 16 elements, including mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, chromium, nickel, potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, cobalt and molybdenum in crops by ultra-microwave digestion coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been developed. The sample was pretreated using the super microwave digestion, and the acid system, the temperature and time of the super microwave digestion were optimized, with the temperature for acid removal also determined. Under the optimal conditions, the regression coefficients (R2) were all greater than 0.999. The method detection limits (LOD) for the 16 elements ranged from 0.0003 mg/kg to 0.1 mg/kg, the spiked recoveries were in the range of 85.9%-113% with the precision (RSD) of 1.7%-8.1%. By comparing with conventional microwave digestion, there was no significant difference between the two methods. The validation of the standard substances showed that the determination results of most elements were within the uncertainty range of the standard values. The method has the advantages of simple operation, fast analysing speed and high sensitivity, which provides methodological support for the management of heavy metal pollution in farmland soil and the work of safe crop cultivation.