No abstract

Purpose Businesses embark on corporate social responsibility initiatives such as cause-related marketing (CRM) as a strategy to enhance behavioural intentions. This study was undertaken due to the limited ability of the existing CRM literature to directly examine whether and how consumers’ trust affects the donation intention, specifically in the private-label grocery retailing context. This study employs social identity theory as a unified theory to explain the variables adopted and contributes to the body of knowledge on CRM-linked private-label consumption. Design/methodology/approach This study used SPSS 25 and AMOS to analyse the quantitative data. The structural equation modelling was adopted to test moderation and mediation effect and the sample consisted of 456 private-label grocery shoppers. Findings The findings of this study established that general trust in CRM alone would not translate into triggering donation intentions for CRM private-label brands and further validates the mediating role of trust in retailers’ CRM campaigns (TRCC) in shaping monetary donation intentions. Moreover, religious values confirmed a significant moderating role while translating TRCC to donation intention. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this study was the restricted focus on private labels. This research may be limited to only one private-label packaged product but may focus on other private-label products in future research. Practical implications This study has practical significance for advertising managers in designing and implementing campaigns. More specifically, it establishes that consumers who trust the CRM phenomenon and seek private-label products associated with CRM campaigns are likely to provide monetary donations towards non-profit organization (NPOs). Originality/value This information will help practitioners, including grocery retailers, NPO managers and advertising professionals, design effective CRM campaigns for private-label products by understanding the fundamental relationship between trust in CRM campaigns and monetary donation intentions.

Background Interrelationship between growth habit and flowering played a key role in the domestication history of pulses; however, the actual genes responsible for these traits have not been identified in Indian bean. Determinate growth habit is desirable due to its early flowering, photo-insensitivity, synchronous pod maturity, ease in manual harvesting and short crop duration. The present study aimed to identify, characterize and validate the gene responsible for growth habit by using a candidate gene approach coupled with sequencing, multiple sequence alignment, protein structure prediction and binding pocket analysis. Results Terminal flowering locus was amplified from GPKH 120 (indeterminate) and GNIB-21 (determinate) using the primers designed from PvTFL1y locus of common bean. Gene prediction revealed that the length of the third and fourth exons differed between the two alleles. Allelic sequence comparison indicated a transition from guanine to adenine at the end of the third exon in GNIB 21. This splice site single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was validated in germplasm lines by sequencing. Protein structure analysis indicated involvement of two binding pockets for interaction of terminal flowering locus (TFL) protein with other proteins. Conclusion The splice site SNP present at the end of the third exon of TFL locus is responsible for the transformation of shoot apical meristem into a reproductive fate in the determinate genotype GNIB 21. The splice site SNP leads to absence of 14 amino acids in mutant TFL protein of GNIB 21, rendering the protein non-functional. This deletion disturbed previously reported anion-binding pocket and secondary binding pocket due to displacement of small β-sheet away from an external loop. This finding may enable the modulation of growth habit in Indian bean and other pulse crops through genome editing.

Background: Indian bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet] is an important vegetable as well as split pulse crop in India. An attempt was made here to study the genetic variability, correlation and direct and indirect effects through path analysis for yield and yield attributing traits. Methods: Total 52 genotypes were evaluated in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications during early-rabi season, 2018-2019. Observations were recorded on 11 quantitative traits. Result: Significant variation existed in all the characters. Higher values of GCV and PCV were observed for pods per raceme, pods per plant and seed yield per plant. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for racemes per plant, pods per raceme, pods per plant, pod width and seed yield per plant. Seed yield per plant was highly significant and positively correlated at genotypic level with days to maturity, plant height, racemes per plant, pods per raceme, pods per plant and seeds per pod. Path analysis based on genotypic correlation revealed that high positive direct effects on seed yield per plant was registered by pod per raceme followed by racemes per plant, pod length, days to 50% flowering, plant height, pod weight and days to maturity.

Photoperiod responsive flowering and growth habit might have played a key role in domestication of lablab bean (Lablab purpureus) and currently shifting its cultivation from intercropping to monoculture. Most of the landraces of lablab bean exhibit photoperiod sensitivity in flowering and indeterminate growth habit. A cross was made between GNIB21 and GP189 which are phenotypic extremes for photoperiod responsive flowering. The F1 hybrid exhibited dominant traits like indeterminate growth habit and photosensitive flowering endowed from male parent. Segregation pattern of 3:1 in F2 generation indicated monogenic recessive nature of photoperiod insensitive flowering. Bulk segregant analysis in F2 population revealed association of PvTFLy1, a locus governing determinate growth habit in lablab bean, with photoperiod responsive flowering where an amplicon of 300 bp was observed in photo sensitive GP189 while it was absent in photo insensitive variety GNIB21. Significant ÷2 test indicated coupling phase of linkage between PvTFLY1 and photoperiod responsive flowering. Linkage analysis placed PvTFLY1 at the distance of 19.23 cM from the locus governing photoperiod responsive flowering. The linkage between growth habit and photoperiod responsive flowering in common bean, soybean and Indian bean suggest that these traits may be governed by mutation or deletion of E3 (or GmPhyA3) and Dt1 homologs in Indian bean. Information available on characterized genes for photoperiod responsive flowering and determinate growth habit from common bean, soybean and other related legumes may be utilized for isolation, characterization, mapping and molecular dissection of genes involved in regulation of photoperiod responsive flowering in Indian bean.