Two good polygalacturonase (PG) producing strains were selected from 21 Rhizopus spp. isolates from `ragi' and fermented foods and from 4 authentic Rhizopus strains. Strain LKN produced 3.2 U/mg protein of crude enzyme extract (0.68 U/g substrate) in 3 days solid culture of pectin and cassava starch supplemented wheat bran. Strain Al 1-enzyme showed a wide pH stability range of pH 2-11 and tolerance at 50°C for 20 min.Pectic enzymes from plant and microbial sources have been studied intensively in the past and they are broadly classified into pectinesterase (PE), which saponifies the esterified portions of the pectin chain, and depolymerases which are responsible for cleaving the chain (17). Among the depolymerases, the major one in terms of hydrolytic function is the endo-polygalacturonase (PG, EC 3.2.1.15). Several review articles that covered the Pectic enzymes secreted by various plants and microorganisms, generally reported that plants contain high PE activities. On the other hand, PG is said to be the major pectic enzymes of molds and yeast while bacteria possess higher activities for PE and the lyases (2,4,18, 23, 25) . But molds seemingly prove to be more useful because of higher pectic enzyme production and optimum activity at a lower pH range suited for the most common industrial use, i.e. juice clarification (3). Hence, a lot of efforts have been devoted to the study of the pectic enzymes by molds. In the case of researches on the pectolytic activity of Rhizopus spp., most are related to fruit and vegetable degradation (1). A recent study used citrus waste as substrate for PG production by Rhizopus oryzae (7). But in general, it seems that less attention is being paid regarding the utilization of waste substrate material for the culture and screening of Rhizopus strains for PG production.In this study, most of the Rhizopus strains used were isolated from `ragi,' a rice wine inoculum, and some fermented foods, such as `tempeh' that are native to