Red Knight Research Articles

Barrymore's Gun: Gender and Genre Potential in The Blood Red Knight (1810)

This article closely examines William Barrymore's equestrian melodrama The Blood Red Knight; or, The Fatal Bridge (1810). While the play uses a vague medievalist setting, such associative conventions to the medieval romance are upended when the play's heroine shoots and kills the villain during the knight's mounted battle. While contemporary reviewers and theatre historians today have been largely fascinated by the use of live horses on stage, the gunshot makes The Blood Red Knight an outlier worthy of further study. I argue that the firing of Barrymore's gun creates a moment of disruptive potentiality where melodrama's complex and ambivalent politics are negotiated before the audience witnessing the play's concluding spectacle. In this largely overlooked moment, histories of gender and violence as well as romantic convention are disrupted, demonstrating the radical potential available to melodrama during its early stages of development.

Cultivar Selection and Placement of Shadecloth on Midwest High Tunnels Affects Colored Bell Pepper Yield, Fruit Quality, and Plant Growth

Growing colored bell peppers in high tunnels enhances fruit quality and accelerates ripening. While there are benefits to high tunnel pepper production, increased heat inside the structures can lead to plant stress, blossom drop, sunscald, and reduced marketable yields. The objective of this study was to test shadecloth treatments placed on high tunnels to mitigate heat stress and improve colored bell pepper yield and fruit quality, while also identifying cultivars that perform well within Midwest high tunnel systems. Research was conducted at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station (Ames, IA) from 11 May to 11 Oct. in 2017 and 3 May to 9 Oct. in 2018. Six single-poly passively ventilated Quonset high tunnels were used for the experiment. The shade treatments (no shadecloth, 30% light-reducing shadecloth, and 50% light-reducing shadecloth) were applied in June of each season. Within each shade treatment, there were three randomized complete blocks of the seven colored bell pepper cultivars (Archimedes, Delirio, Flavorburst, Red Knight, Sirius, Summer Sweet, and Tequila). Data were collected on yield, fruit quality, and plant growth characteristics. Environmental parameters were monitored throughout the growing season. Both the 30% and 50% shadecloth treatments reduced monthly average and maximum air temperatures within high tunnels, with the largest differences occurring in the months of July and August. The use of a shadecloth reduced the incidence of sunscald by 59% between no shade and 50% shadecloth treatments. While there was no difference between 30% and 50% shade treatments, the use of 50% shadecloth caused a decrease in both marketable number (32%) and weight (29%) of pepper fruit compared with the control. ‘Tequila’, ‘Delirio’, and ‘Flavorburst’ had more marketable fruit per plant. Shade treatments did not affect fruit soluble solids content (SSC), pH, or total titratable acidity (TTA). Shade treatments had no effect on Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) readings, shoot biomass, the number of leaves per plant or the total leaf area per plant; however, plant height increased by an average 14.5 cm for plants under shadecloth treatments. Average leaf size was 11.2 cm2 larger on plants grown under the 50% shadecloth, compared with the control. Several cultivar differences existed for each fruit quality and plant growth parameter. While differences in fruit quality and plant growth parameters were limited among shade treatments, decreasing marketable yield is concerning. Our research suggests that Midwest growers should not exceed 30% light-reducing shadecloth on their high tunnels for colored bell pepper production.

A Comparison of 13 Sweet Pepper Varieties under an Organic Farming System

There is a dearth of information on pepper (Capsicum annuum) variety production under organic conditions; therefore, a randomized complete block designed experiment of 13 pepper varieties were evaluated in 2016 and 2017 using organic production practices on land managed organically for the 6 previous years. Total yield, graded yield, and early yield were the main factors of interest. There were by-year interactions, so the data were analyzed separately for each year. All of the peppers evaluated except for ‘Sweet Chocolate’ were bell pepper types. The average total yield was 1229 and 1754 boxes/acre (28 lb/box) in 2016 and 2017, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences for total yield or early total yield in 2016. In 2017, the top five highest yielding varieties were Aristotle X3R®, Gridiron, King Arthur, Flavorburst, and Blitz. With the exception of ‘Flavorburst’, all of these entries were among the highest yielding for fancy fruit (≥3 inches diameter and 3.5 inches length). The greatest early yield in 2017 included ‘Aristotle X3R®’, ‘Flavorburst’, ‘Touchdown’, ‘Islander’, and ‘Gridiron’. In 2017, early yields of fancy fruit greater than 100 boxes/acre included ‘Aristotle X3R®’, ‘Red Knight X3R®’, ‘Blitz’, and ‘Gridiron’.

Effect of pre-harvest foliar application of amino acids and seaweed (Ascophylum nodosum) extract on growth, yield, and storage life of different bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars grown under hydroponic conditions

The study was set up to evaluate the efficiency of amino acids and seaweed on vegetative growth, reproductive phase, yield, and postharvest storage quality of hydroponically grown bell pepper cultivars “Sven Rz F-1” and “Red Knight.” Different concentrations of amino acid and seaweed were sprayed on bell pepper plants under hydroponic conditions. Pre-harvest foliar application of amino acids and seaweed significantly increased plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, yield per plant, number of marketable fruits per plant, average fruit diameter, fruit wall thickness, and average single fruit weight. Amino acid and seaweed significantly improved postharvest physicochemical quality of both bell pepper cultivars under extended cold storage conditions. Conclusively, amino acid as well as seaweed extract not only improved growth, development, yield, and overall quality of bell pepper cultivars but also increased storage life with reduced weight loss and decay along with better physicochemical quality.

The Complete Story of the Grail: Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval and Its Continuations by Chrétien de Troyes

Reviewed by: The Complete Story of the Grail: Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval and Its Continuations by Chrétien de Troyes Susan Brooks Chrétien de Troyes, The Complete Story of the Grail: Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval and Its Continuations, trans. Nigel Bryant (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer 2015) 580 pp. The Quest for the Holy Grail is an iconic story in Western culture. The first writer to set it down in literature was Chrétien de Troyes, the twelfth-century French trouvère poet associated with the courts of Marie of Champagne and Philip of Flanders. It is believed to be the latter patron who commissioned the creation of Chrétien’s last great work, Perceval, the tale of the Grail knight. Author of several Arthurian works including Yvain, The Knight of the Lion and Cligés, Chrétien is considered the preeminent poet of chivalric culture. His Grail manuscript breaks off, and it is commonly thought that its unfinished state can be attributed to his death. What remains is of such rare quality that it became a medieval obsession, with continuations by no fewer than four subsequent poets and prequels by two additional writers. BBC Producer and former [End Page 351] head of drama at Marlborough College Nigel Bryant has translated and gathered all of the versions into one volume, The Complete Story of the Grail, published by Boydell & Brewer imprint D. S. Brewer and edited by noted Arthurian authority Norris J. Lacy, professor emeritus of Pennsylvania State University. Bryant himself is the translator of numerous books including Perlesvaus and Perceforest and the author of more including a forthcoming biography of William Marshal. This fine edition of the Grail story surrenders many treasures to a close read. Bryant capsulizes the seminal Chrétien version and the continuations in the introductory section, providing a helpful guide through the nearly six hundred pages that follow. The book begins with a presentation of the facts. Perceval was likely written in the 1180s not long before Philip of Flanders died in the Third Crusade. The continuations appear over the following years, with the last possibly written as late as the 1230s. Perceval survives in fifteen manuscripts, some of which contain only the original and others which also incorporate one or more of the continuations in various redactions. Bryant addresses some scholarly appraisal of the continuations as being of lesser consequence than other medieval works by utilizing the example of modern entertainment franchises as a comparison. One of the objections to the continuations has been their divergence from Chrétien’s original and their lack of continuity. Bryant comments that modern viewers do not necessarily expect perfect continuity in film serials, nor did the medieval audience demand it in their romances. His roots as a dramatist are on display as he stresses that the works were clearly intended to be read aloud. Created in an era of limited literacy, he calls them “scripts for performance” and notes their merits as such. Bearing that in mind, it’s easy to see that Chrétien at least, a master storyteller, used words to paint a visual picture of astounding beauty for his audience. He employed color as the primary means to invoke the imagination: the green forest, the Red Knight, and the blood drops on the white snow that transport Perceval into a transcendent state recalling the feminine fairness of his love Blanchefleur. Other tools he deftly wielded to activate the capacity of visualization are symbols that even today speak to the unconscious: the Grail, the lance, the quiet of the glade and the panoply of the tournament. Perceval himself is an archetype, the Holy Fool who personifies innocence of the profane. He is also a genius of chivalry, descended from a line of notable knights, and such a quick study once introduced to the knightly concept that he seems like a superhero. It’s almost as if something encoded in his DNA is activated by the energies of the other men, and he bursts into bloom by subtle instinct. His interactions with others reveal both his initial raw edges and his ability to learn. The laughing girl and the fool at court come to...

Interactions of Phytophthora capsici with Resistant and Susceptible Pepper Roots and Stems.

Using host resistance is an important strategy for managing pepper root and crown rot caused by Phytophthora capsici. An isolate of P. capsici constitutively expressing a gene for green fluorescent protein was used to investigate pathogen interactions with roots, crowns, and stems of Phytophthora-susceptible bell pepper 'Red Knight', Phytophthora-resistant bell pepper 'Paladin', and Phytophthora-resistant landrace Criollos de Morelos 334 (CM-334). In this study, the same number of zoospores attached to and germinated on roots of all cultivars 30 and 120 min postinoculation (pi), respectively. At 3 days pi, significantly more secondary roots had necrotic lesions on Red Knight than on Paladin and CM-334 plants. By 4 days pi, necrotic lesions had formed on the taproot of Red Knight but not Paladin or CM-334 plants. Although hyphae were visible in the crowns and stems of all Red Knight plants observed at 4 days pi, hyphae were observed in crowns of only a few Paladin and in no CM-334 plants, and never in stems of either resistant cultivar at 4 days pi. These results improve our understanding of how P. capsici infects plants and may contribute to the use of resistant pepper cultivars for disease management and the development of new cultivars.

Cirque du Soleil and Its Roots in Illegitimate Circus

Cirque du Soleil and Its Roots in Illegitimate Circus

Field Evaluation of Carbon Sources for Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation in Tomato and Bell Pepper Production in Tennessee

Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) is a biologically based, non-fumigant, pre-plant soil treatment developed to control soilborne plant pathogens and plant-parasitic nematodes in specialty crop production systems. Soil treatment by ASD includes the incorporation of a labile carbon (C) source, tarping with plastic, and irrigation of the topsoil to saturation (5 cm irrigation) to create conditions conducive to anaerobic decomposition of the added C source. A field study was implemented beginning in Fall 2010 and repeated in the same plot locations in Fall 2011 in Knoxville, TN, to evaluate ASD. Soil properties, weed and Rhizoctonia solani population dynamics, and crop performance were evaluated after ASD treatment with several potential C sources for ASD before production of fresh-market tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Red Defender’) and red bell pepper (Capsicum annum L. ‘Red Knight X3R’). Treatments included: 1) untreated control; 2) mustard seed meal (biofumigant control); 3) ASD with dried molasses; 4) ASD with soil-incorporated Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.), white mustard (Sinapis alba L.), and arugula (Eruca sativa Mill.) cover crop with molasses added at cover crop incorporation; 5) ASD with soil-incorporated Indian mustard, white mustard, and arugula cover crop; 6) ASD with soil-incorporated cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop with molasses added at cover crop incorporation; and 7) ASD with soil-incorporated cereal rye cover crop. Accumulated soil anaerobic conditions were significantly greater than the untreated control in all ASD treatments except the ASD mustard/arugula treatment. Although not related to accumulated anaerobic conditions, populations of R. solani were lowest and equivalent to the biofumigant control for ASD cereal rye and ASD mustard/arugula treatments. Differences in weed populations and soil inorganic nitrogen among treatments were limited. Yield of bell pepper and tomato did not differ among treatments, which may have been partly the result of the low pest pressure observed at the site over the 2 years of the study.

Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation

Aladenola, O. and Madramootoo, C. 2014. Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 303–310. In order to optimize water use in bell pepper production information about the appropriate irrigation water applications and agronomic and physiological response to mild and severe water stress is necessary. Different water applications were tested on yield, quality and water stress threshold of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar Red Knight in 2011 and 2012 on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste Anne De Bellevue, QC. The study was carried out on a soil substrate in the greenhouse. Irrigation was scheduled with four treatments:120% (T1), 100% (T2), 80% (T3), and 40% (T4) replenishment of crop evapotranspiration in a completely randomized design. The highest marketable yield, water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency were obtained with T1 in both years. T1 received 20% more water than T2 to produce 23% more marketable yield than T2. Fruit total soluble solids content was highest in T4, and smallest in T1. The mean crop water stress index (CWSI) of the irrigation treatments ranged between 0.08 and 1.18. Leaf stomatal conductance of bell pepper was 75 to 80% lower in T4 than in T1. Regression obtained between stomatal conductance and CWSI resulted in a polynomial curve with coefficients of determination of 0.88 and 0.97 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The result from this study indicate that the yield derived justifies the use of an extra quantity of water. Information from this study will help water regulators to make appropriate decision about water to be allocated for greenhouse production of bell pepper.

Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation

Aladenola, O. and Madramootoo, C. 2014. Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 303-310. In order to optimize water use in bell pepper production information about the appropriate irrigation water applications and agronomic and physiological response to mild and severe water stress is necessary. Different water applications were tested on yield, quality and water stress threshold of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar Red Knight in 2011 and 2012 on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste Anne De Bellevue, QC. The study was carried out on a soil substrate in the greenhouse. Irrigation was scheduled with four treatments:120% (T1), 100% (T2), 80% (T3), and 40% (T4) replenishment of crop evapotranspiration in a completely randomized design. The highest marketable yield, water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency were obtained with T1 in both years. T1 received 20% more water than T2 to produce 23% more marketable yield than T2. Fruit total soluble solids content was highest in T4, and smallest in T1. The mean crop water stress index (CWSI) of the irrigation treatments ranged between 0.08 and 1.18. Leaf stomatal conductance of bell pepper was 75 to 80% lower in T4 than in T1. Regression obtained between stomatal conductance and CWSI resulted in a polynomial curve with coefficients of determination of 0.88 and 0.97 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The result from this study indicate that the yield derived justifies the use of an extra quantity of water. Information from this study will help water regulators to make appropriate decision about water to be allocated for greenhouse production of bell pepper.

Evaluation of Commercial Bell Pepper Cultivars for Resistance to Phytophthora Blight (Phytophthora capsici)

Phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici) is an important disease of bell peppers, causing crown, root, and fruit rot as well as foliar lesions. Substantial yield losses can result from either plant death or fruit rot. Host resistance is an effective management strategy for the root and crown rot phase of the disease, and a number of commercially-available pepper cultivars are described by the supplier as intermediately resistant. In field trials conducted over 5 years, the bell pepper cultivars Archimedes, Aristotle, Intruder, and Paladin were found to be the most resistant to a single isolate of P. capsici from New York State (NY 0664-1). Cultivars ACR285, Declaration, PS 09941819, Revolution, and Vanguard showed intermediate levels of resistance. Escalade, Karisma, Keystone Giant, King of the North, and Red Knight were highly susceptible to NY 0664-1. This information will be useful to growers selecting cultivars to plant in fields with a history of Phytophthora blight. Accepted for publication 24 October 2013. Published 30 January 2014.

Evaluation of Eggplant Rootstocks and Pepper Varieties for Potential Resistance to Isolates of Phytophthora capsici from Michigan and New York.

Phytophthora capsici is a soilborne pathogen of major economic importance in pepper, and of less importance in tomato and eggplant production. As soil fumigation becomes more expensive and limited, and fungicide insensitivity of P. capsici isolates becomes more prevalent, grafting is quickly becoming an industry-favored method to control soilborne diseases. Greenhouse experiments were performed to evaluate an eggplant cultivar (Classic), two eggplant lines (EG195, EG203), a pepper line (CM334), and three pepper cultivars (Paladin, Camelot, and Red Knight) for root rot resistance to 14 P. capsici isolates. The isolates showed various degrees of virulence between pepper and eggplant in both experiments. Both eggplant and one pepper lines showed moderate resistance to the most virulent isolates tested in experiment one. The partially resistant pepper cultivar, Paladin, was significantly more susceptible than CM334 and the eggplant lines, but was still resistant to most isolates. In the second experiment, the eggplant cultivar Classic and the susceptible pepper cultivar Red Knight were both susceptible to most isolates tested, while EG203 and EG195 were resistant to most isolates. The two eggplant breeding lines, EG195 and EG203, showed moderate resistance to all isolates tested in both experiments. This is the first reported evaluation of eggplant resistance to P. capsici. Further research is warranted to test eggplant lines EG195 and EG203 for resistance to a wide range of soilborne pests and to evaluate their usefulness as P. capsici-resistant rootstocks for peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants.

Comparison of qualitative traits, biological value, chemical compounds of sweet pepper fruit

Sweet pepper fruits have a high biological value, a rich content of minerals. At present, large-fruit cultivars, distinguishable by a thick pericarp wall, high processing efficiency, good growth on fields, under covers, dominate in sweet pepper cultivation. The present research has been conducted to compare the qualitative traits, chemical composition of sweet pepper fruits of the Red Knight F1 cultivar grown in a greenhouse, on open field. The evaluation of qualitative traits, biological value, chemical composition demonstrated that fruits from the greenhouse cultivation were characterized by significantly larger fruit weight, weight of edible parts as compared to those harvested from a field, although they did not differ significantly in the pericarp thickness. Fruits produced on a field had a higher ratio of the technological to total fruit weight, which proves that the cultivar is an attractive choice for field cultivation of sweet pepper, suitable for processing. Pepper fruits from a field versus the ones grown in a greenhouse contained significantly less dry matter, reducing sugars but more vitamin C. The greenhouse-grown fruits contained higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium than those from a field.

Anatomical traits of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruit

The micromorphology of the epidermis as well as the anatomy of the pericarp and fruit pedicle in <i>Capsicum annuum</i> L., cv. 'Red Knight F<sub>1</sub>', were studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. The pericarp was found to consist of an epidermis with strongly thickened outer walls, several layers of tangential and angular collenchyma as well as multi-layered parenchyma composed of cells of varying size in which very large lobed nuclei were observed. Chromoplasts were found in the cells of the above-mentioned tissues. The inner epidermis of the pericarp was characterized by thick cell walls and numerous straight pits. Among the tissues of the fruit pedicle, we observed epidermis with numerous stomata, collenchyma, chlorenchyma with very large intercellular spaces, small clusters of sclerenchyma, secondary phloem and xylem as well live and dead cells of the pith which were characterized by the presence of thin walls with numerous pits. The structural traits of the pericarp of the red pepper cultivar under study show adaptations to significantly reduced transpiration, which is an important feature during storage. At the same time, the strongly thickened and cutinized walls of the fruit contribute to a reduction in its digestibility and impede nutrient penetration in non-root feeding.

Study on Shrimp Waste Water and Vermicompost as a Nutrient Source for Bell Peppers

The aquaculture industry generates significant nutrient-rich wastewater that is released into streams and rivers causing environmental concern. The objective of this controlled environment study was to evaluate the effect of waste shrimp water (SW), vermicompost (VC), at rates of 10%, 20%, 40%, and 80% by volume alone or in combination with SW, controlled-release fertilizer (CRF), and water-soluble fertilizer (WSF) on bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) cv. X3R Red Knight. Application of VC at 80% or SW alone increased yields relative to unfertilized control. Combined applications of VC and SW increased yields compared with VC alone. Overall, total yields were greatest in the chemical fertilizer treatments (CRF and WSF) and least in the unfertilized control. SW and VC increased growth medium pH relative to the unfertilized control or to the chemical fertilizer treatments. In pepper fruits, the greatest nitrogen (N) content was found in the CRF treatment, although it was not different from VC at high rates or WSF treatments. Phosphorus concentration in peppers was greatest in the CRF treatment, less in all VC or SW treatments, but not different from unfertilized control or WSF treatment. Iron, magnesium (Mg), and zinc concentrations in peppers were greatest in CRF treatment but not different from control or WSF treatments. Overall, N accumulation in peppers was negatively correlated to growth medium pH and calcium (Ca); phosphorus (P) in peppers was negatively correlated to growth medium pH, Ca, and sodium (Na), whereas potassium (K) in peppers was negatively correlated to growth medium P, Mg, and Na. Results indicated: 1) SW may not be a viable pepper nutrient source; (2) SW can provide a similar nutrient supply as VC; and (3) chemical fertilizers can provide higher pepper yields compared with SW or VC alone or in combination.

Managing Phytophthora Crown and Root Rot in Bell Pepper Using Fungicides and Host Resistance.

A resistant pepper cultivar and nine fungicides were tested in both the field and greenhouse and their ability to limit Phytophthora crown and root rot was demonstrated. In both settings, the resistant pepper 'Paladin' and the susceptible pepper 'Red Knight' were inoculated with prepared millet seed infested with Phytophthora capsici. Foliar sprays were applied to the pepper plants on a 7-day interval in the field, and foliar sprays or drenches were applied at 7- or 14-day intervals in the greenhouse. Cv. Paladin had significantly less plant death than Red Knight. In the field, plants treated with fluopicolide or mandipropamid had significantly less plant death than the untreated control plants and, in the greenhouse, all fixed effects, including cultivar, fungicide treatment, application method, and application interval, were significant. The interactions among fungicide-cultivar, application method-cultivar, application method-fungicide, and fungicide-cultivar-application method were also significant in the greenhouse. Treatments applied as drenches provided greater control of P. capsici than those applied foliarly. Combining a resistant cultivar with a fungicide applied as a drench may help reduce the incidence of crown and root rot in pepper.

The Contemporaneity of The Last Tournament

Idylls of the King [functioned as] a shell to encase the nineteenth century. --Robert Bernard Martin (1) single poems making up the collective Idylls of the King were released over a very long period of time, more than sixty-five years if one counts from a first version of Lancelot and Elaine (The Lady of Shalott, published in 1832) to the first printed insertion of the line Ideal manhood closed in real man in 1899. (2) Most of the separated, and sequentially collected, idylls appeared first in volumes of Tennyson's new verse, but one was published in a periodical: Last Tournament at the opening of the December 1871 issue of the Contemporary Review (hereafter LT and CR, respectively). Tennyson started the idyll in November 1870 and completed by May 21, 1871. (3) It was essentially original, borrowing very little from Malory although the Tristram and Isolt story was available in several versions and popular among some of Tennyson's contemporaries. By 1870 the narrative trajectory of the Idylls was essentially completed; LT tells of further degeneration both at Camelot and among Arthur's knights fighting the Red King on the northern border of the realm, while the infidelity of Guinevere has long since become widely known and the end of Arthur's reign is clearly near. last line of the preceding idyll is Modred's thought that The time is hard at hand (Pelleas and Ettarre, l. 597). Therefore in this idyll Tennyson had room to imagine what the last days before the final battle might be like, unfettered by any need to incorporate further plot. LT deals with two sets of events: (1) Tristram's victory at the Tournament of the Dead Innocence and transmittal of the prize jewels to Isolt of Britain, wife of King Mark of Cornwall, and (2) Arthur's fight against the Red Knight, whom Tennyson identified as Pelleas--thus connecting the new idyll to the one immediately preceding in the series, Pelleas and Ettarre, composed and published in 1869. In that idyll, Pelleas becomes disillusioned and furious at the betrayals of love he experiences himself and hears about from Percivale. At the opening of LT he has established a realm that parodies and inverts the protocols of chivalry once observed in Caerleon: a maimed swineherd, spluttering through the hedge of splintered teeth (l. 65), reports that the Red Knight's practice is that whatsoever [Arthur's] own knights have sworn / My knights have sworn the counter to it (ll. 79-80). Framing these episodes are scenes with the King's fool, Dagonet (not the same character as the knight in Malory), whose ability to make the King smile, presumably related to his dancing and music, is crushed by the newer music of Tristram. (4) What has gone relatively unremarked about this idyll is the extent to which, by being one whose content Tennyson could invent, converses with issues vexing contemporary Britain. Its placement at the beginning of the December 1871 issue of the CR, facing the advertisements for commercial products printed on the inside cover wrapper, seems to be an inappropriate juxtaposition of Arthurian medievalism to Victorian commodities (see Fig. 1). But a closer examination of the periodical context within which LT appears for its first readers reveals substantial congruence between matters agitating the subjects of Queen Victoria in 1871 and those eroding Arthur's kingdom more than a thousand years before. I shall first establish the critical context within which the Idylls as serial has been understood; second, turn to recent discoveries about Tennyson's relationship to the publisher and the editor of the CR and his stated reasons for publishing in that periodical after having the manuscript set in type for a volume; third, read the CR itself for the preceding year, during which Tennyson composed the poem and decided upon its publication venue, to discover its principal concerns and commitments; and fourth, adduce some of the ways LT might be seen, by its first readers as well as by us now, to speak both to Victorian issues and to the overarching thematic and historiographical structures of Tennyson's poem. …

Vom Fall in die Farbe. Chromophilie in Wolframs von Eschenbach ›Parzival‹

The paper explores the negotiations of medieval theological discourses on colours in Wolfram's ›Parzival‹. The episode of Parzival's encounter with Ither, the red knight, for example, points to the significance of these discourses for Wolfram's construction of the story. On the one hand, Parzival's desire for and his violent acquisition of Ither's armour seem to draw from chromophobic arguments by Bernhard of Clairvaux, since the colour of the armour represents the hero's murder and his fall from grace. On the other hand, Parzival's appropriation of the red armour simultaneously signifies his rise in courtly society. Thus, the episode reflects the high esteem of colours in the Middle Ages derived from the medieval philosophy of light.

Efficacy of Muscodor albus for the Control of Phytophthora Blight of Sweet Pepper and Butternut Squash.

The efficacy of Muscodor albus, a potential soil biofumigant, to control root and stem rot by Phytophthora capsici, was examined in a greenhouse study. P. capsici-infested potting mix was treated with three rates of M. albus, mefenoxam (Ridomil Gold EC, Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc.), or nothing. Seedlings of five sweet pepper cultivars and one butternut squash cultivar were transplanted into the treated potting mix. After 7 days, the plants were rated on a scale of 0 (healthy) to 5 (dead). The experiment was conducted three times and there was a significant interaction between pepper cultivar and soil treatment. Treatment with the highest rate of M. albus resulted in a slight but significant reduction in disease severity on Alliance, Aristotle, Paladin, and Revolution pepper compared with the pathogen-only control, while no significant decreases in disease severity were observed with butternut squash or the highly susceptible pepper cv. Red Knight. Of the four less-susceptible pepper cultivars, Paladin (the most tolerant cultivar) was the only one on which M. albus, as applied in this study, reduced disease severity to commercially acceptable levels.

(25) Effects of Saline Irrigation Timing on the Physiology and Marketable Yield of Bell Peppers Growing in Mulch or Nonmulch Conditions

The effect of applying saline water (2.5 dS·m-1) via a drip irrigation system at different growth stages of mulched or nonmulched bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L. var. Red Knight) was investigated under greenhouse conditions. The study 6 × 2 factorial was arranged as a randomized complete-block design. The six irrigation treatments were: 1) control—nonsaline water throughout growth; 2) saline irrigation throughout growth; 3) saline irrigation from transplanting until formation of the first fruit set; 4) saline irrigation from transplanting until appearance of the first flower and from first harvest to final harvest; 5) saline irrigation from appearance of the first flower until first harvest; and 6) saline irrigation from fruit set until final harvest. A measurement of stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), and photosynthesis (A) rates was performed during vegetative growth, at flowering, at fruit set, and during fruit growth and development. Mulched plants had higher photosynthetic rates than nonmulched plants, although values were only significant for treatments 2, 3, 5, and 6. In addition, nonmulched plants were slower to recover after periods of saline irrigation than mulched plants. Mulched plants had significantly greater yields than nonmulched plants regardless of irrigation treatment. Saline irrigation when applied throughout growth or from fruit formation until harvest reduced marketable yields by 38% and 45% compared with the control plants.