SUMMARYInvestigations have been made into the possibility of a chemical basis for resistance to coffee berry disease in certainCoffea arabicavarieties. Chloroform extracts of the cuticular wax of berries, purified by fractionation and chromatography, proved toxic to a range of fungi includingColletotrichum coffeanum, the causal organism of coffee berry disease. Leaf cuticular wax also contained this fungitoxic principle, though at a lower level. The possible importance of this antifungal material in determining resistance to coffee berry disease is discussed.