This article discusses the importance of plant nutrition for sustainable development and global health. Plants require 14 mineral elements for nutrition, including macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, and micronutrients like chlorine, boron, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, nickel, and molybdenum. These elements are generally obtained from the soil, but crop production is often limited by low phytoavailability or toxic concentrations of certain elements. The article provides an overview of plant mineral nutrition, explaining how elements are taken up by roots and distributed within plants. It introduces the concept of the ionome, which refers to the elemental composition of a plant's subcellular structures, and highlights the role of transport proteins in determining species-specific ionomes. The article also discusses the challenges of mineral toxicities in agricultural soils and the need for sustainable fertilizer management to ensure food security and environmental sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of improving fertilizer use efficiency and developing crop genotypes that can tolerate toxic elements in the soil. The article highlights the role of genetic strategies in biofortification, which involves increasing the concentrations of essential mineral elements in crops to improve human nutrition. The article also addresses the issue of mineral deficiencies in human diets, particularly for elements like iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, calcium, magnesium, and copper. It discusses the use of fertilizers and plant breeding strategies to increase the concentrations of these elements in edible plant tissues. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of sustainable crop production and the need for improved nutrient management to ensure food security and human health.This article discusses the importance of plant nutrition for sustainable development and global health. Plants require 14 mineral elements for nutrition, including macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, and micronutrients like chlorine, boron, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, nickel, and molybdenum. These elements are generally obtained from the soil, but crop production is often limited by low phytoavailability or toxic concentrations of certain elements. The article provides an overview of plant mineral nutrition, explaining how elements are taken up by roots and distributed within plants. It introduces the concept of the ionome, which refers to the elemental composition of a plant's subcellular structures, and highlights the role of transport proteins in determining species-specific ionomes. The article also discusses the challenges of mineral toxicities in agricultural soils and the need for sustainable fertilizer management to ensure food security and environmental sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of improving fertilizer use efficiency and developing crop genotypes that can tolerate toxic elements in the soil. The article highlights the role of genetic strategies in biofortification, which involves increasing the concentrations of essential mineral elements in crops to improve human nutrition. The article also addresses the issue of mineral deficiencies in human diets, particularly for elements like iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, calcium, magnesium, and copper. It discusses the use of fertilizers and plant breeding strategies to increase the concentrations of these elements in edible plant tissues. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of sustainable crop production and the need for improved nutrient management to ensure food security and human health.