Peach-palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.) waste as substrate for xylanase production by Trichoderma stromaticum AM7

This work investigated the xylanase production by fungi isolates from tropical agroforestry systems using peach-palm industrial waste as a substrate. Trichoderma stromaticum AM7 was the best xylanase producer and there was a 160% increase in xylanase activity after optimizing by the Box-Behnken statistical design. The optimization process demonstrated that the maximum activity occurred at 0.95% nitrogen concentration after 6 days of cultivation at 32 degrees C, which achieved a yield of 1440 U g(-1) of dry initial substrate. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy showed degradation of the fibers after cultivation. The optimum pH and temperature for xylanase activity were 5.0 and 50 degrees C, respectively. The extensive degradation of the peach-palm waste and xylanase production by T. stromaticum AM7 was due to the combination of a good physicochemical composition of the culture medium and the characteristics of the selected fungus.