In canker war, common sense becomes a casualty (man pepper sprayed over tree in yard)

Sun-Sentinel ^ | February 4, 2003 | Michael Mayo

[KneelBeforeZod]

Tom Cowart and Denise Orr never liked their grapefruit tree that much. So when the state said it was infected with citrus canker and the cutting crew came to remove it in December 2000, they didn't protest....

But when a crew came to take their tangerine tree last February, things weren't so cordial.

Cowart asked for a search warrant. The cutters said they didn't need one.

Cowart told them to get off his property. They said they didn't have to.

A tense standoff ensued on the front lawn of Cowart's Fort Lauderdale home, with Florida Department of Agriculture officials and Broward Sheriff's Office deputies being summoned. It ended with Cowart pepper-sprayed, pinned to the ground by three officers and arrested.....

[KneelBeforeZod]

[Rain-maker]

Knock Knock, Lawn patrol. We've come to dig up your yard and look for beetles.

[neutrino]

Isn't it great to live in a free country, where the actions of officials are governed by the rule of law? (/ironic sarcasm)

[Kay Ludlow]

Too many government agencies have their own "law enforcement officers". Because they have such a limited mission (in comparison with regluar local police) they can be very zealous about their mission.

Disarm the Bureaucracy!

[metesky]

Before they disarm us!

[PJ-Comix]

At the Swap Shop here in Ft. Lauderdale, I used to be able to buy all sorts of great citrus grown in private yards that people used to sell. No longer. All that tree cutting has just about eliminated the source for that citrus. I sure miss some of the great citrus that was for sale. Among my favorites were the Honeybells and the Pineapple oranges. The later are really incredible. They are oranges but for some strange reason, their juice tastes just like pineapple juice with just a hit of orange flavor.

[Freebird Forever]

This can be a nasty disease. The homeowner should have had conducted more due diligence and been fully aware of the signs/symptoms. People need to have appropriate information so as to be able to stand up and defend their rights. Guess that thought can be applied a lot of areas

Plants infected with citrus canker have characteristic lesions on leaves, stems, and fruit with raised, brown water-soaked margins usually with a yellow hallow effect around the lesion. The lesions ooze bacterial cells that, when driven by wind and rain, can spread to other plants in the area. Infection may spread further by large storm events or by the movement of contaminated equipment used on or near infected trees.

Citrus canker bacteria can enter through the plant's stomatal openings or through wounds to the plant, with younger tissues being most susceptible. Also, damage caused by leaf miner larvae (Phyllocnistis citrella) can be particularly good avenues for infection. Once infection occurs, it may take sixty or more days for symptoms to appear during the incubation phase. Citrus canker bacteria can stay viable in old lesions for months.

[Dudoight]

Is there no remedy or preventative?

[Teacher317]

for the canker, or the JBT disease?

[PLMerite]

Pigs.

This is why every home should have an assault rifle.

[Freebird Forever]

Is there no remedy or preventative?

I'm not aware of any spray-on or systemic antibiotic that can be applied to the trees once they're infected.

Destruction of infected stock and maintaining a bacteria-free perimeter are what's used now as a preventative.

Perhaps selective breeding for resistance or possibly grafting on to a resistant rootstock could be implemented in the future.

A citrus expert would be able to tell you more.

[M_TEN_FORTYFIVE]

" This is why every home should have an assault rifle. "


My first urge was to say that you were full of B$. Then I read the full article, and now tend to agree with you.

But not for the cops, for the Ag Nazis.

[PLMerite]

"But not for the cops, for the Ag Nazis."

Whomever. If the Ag Nazis are being directly supported by cops, you go after whomever crosses your property line without a warrant or whomever has the weapon.

If every warrant/warrantless entry had to be performed as if it were going to be opposed with deadly force, I wager there'd be a lot fewer of them and they'd be only for the most egregious crimes.

An armed society is a polite society, after all.