The idea of addressing the problem of the genetic specificity of mineral nutrition at an international level arose four years ago in a proposal for this topic to be included in the program of the II Congress of the Federation of European Societies for Plant Physiology (FESPP) as a separate section. The Organising Committee of the II Congress of FESPP which was held in Santiago de Compostella in 1980 arranged a special session and it was clearly successful. A special scientific meeting where the genetic aspects of plant nutrition in their widest sense could be presented and discussed comprehensively appeared to be necessary and that is how this Symposium came to be organized by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Much progress has already been achieved in this field, and bearing in mind the importance of this problem, particularly at the present moment, it is necessary for us both to acquaint ourselves with what has been achieved so far, and even more to direct attention and effort to the fundamental problems for the future.