WORK AND OCCUPATIONS Bhowmik, Sarker / WORKER COOPERATIVES This article assesses the role of worker cooperatives in reviving industrial production. Although the focus is on the performance of worker cooperatives in Kolkata, India, the study tries to examine the features of such organizations to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Kolkata was once a premier industrial center, but it has witnessed a rapid decline in industries since the 1970s. In some cases, workers attempted to save their jobs by forming cooperatives to manage their industries. Five such cases are discussed in this study. Four of the organizations still exist, whereas one failed in the late 1990s. These cases help in understanding the conditions needed for the survival of such organizations. Support from the state, availability of financial capital, and facilities for marketing are seen as some of the prerequisites. At the same time, the most crucial factors for survival are support from trade unions and maintenance of internal democracy in the decision-making process.

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The rhizobacterial isolates from different agro ecological region of West Bengal, used in this study, were identified as fluorescent pseudomonads based on biochemical and molecular characterization. Six effective antagonist isolates were selected for further studies of secondary metabolite (siderophore) production with respect to bacterial growth at different time intervals (6 to 96 h), the nature of siderophore production (hydroxamate and/or catecholate type), effect of iron supplementation at its different concentration on siderophore production and antagonistic potentiality. Observations of higher level of growth and siderophore production, for most of the isolates, were recorded after 72 h of incubation. The maximum zone of inhibition and siderophore production was recorded at 0.5 µM and the least at 10 µM iron concentration. With the gradual increase in iron supplementation in king's B medium, the siderophore production as well as in vitro antagonistic potentiality decreased in terms of enhancement of diameter of fungal mycelium and reduction of percent inhibition of pathogen by fluorescent pseudomonads in dual culture assay method.

Environmental concerns have led to the need of sustainable use of natural resources. The conventional agriculture practice caused considerable pollution and unavoidable impacts on soil, water, animal as well as human health. Fluorescent pseudomonads, a group of root-associated bacteria that can colonize the roots of crop plants and produce antifungal metabolites represent a real alternative to the application of chemical fungicides. Fluorescent pseudomonads have been studied for decades for their plant growth-promoting effects through effective suppression of soil borne plant diseases. During root colonization, these bacteria produce antifungal antibiotics that can indirectly suppress fungal pathogens by scavenging iron in the rhizosphere environment through the release of siderophores, elicit induced systemic resistance in the host plant or interfere specifically with fungal pathogenicity factors. Before engaging in these activities, the bacteria go through several regulatory processes at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Current genomic analyses of rhizosphere competence and biocontrol traits of fluorescent pseudomonads will likely lead to the development of novel tools for effective management of deleterious phytopathogens and a better exploitation of their plant-beneficial properties for sustainable agriculture. This review addresses the main findings on fluorescent pseudomonads for the last two decades. It summarizes and discusses significant aspects of this general topic, including taxonomic status, genetic diversity of fluorescent pseudomonads in India, different mechanisms of biological control and commercial use of fluorescent pseudomonads in agriculture.