Inspectors at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development ( MDARD ) and their partners at the City of Holland have been working tirelessly to control a pleasant and pest - costless Tulip Time .
Each spring , hundred of thousands of visitant derive on Holland to admire arresting floral displays throughout the city s park and gardens . MDARD plays a crucial behind - the - scene purpose to control the health and base hit of tulip bulbs before they ’re planted and to protect Michiganders and the innate resources we cherish .
" MDARD and the City of Holland have been work quietly and efficiently to see to it a safe and successful Tulip Time , " order MDARD Director Tim Boring . " Verifying that imported tulip bulb are free of plant pests and diseases is just one example of MDARD work behind the panorama to benefit Michiganders . We ’re proud to help substantiate this great United States Department of State custom for generations to come . "
provision for Tulip Time begin months in advance . In early September , shipments of light bulb source from the Netherlands begin their journeying to Michigan . After the bulbs make it at interface in Pennsylvania , they are transported overnight to Holland . At that point , MDARD stairs in to ensure the tulip are disease and pest - devoid .
" We want to insure that the tulip bulbs visitors take home after the fete are good for you and pest - barren , " tell MDARD Plant Health Inspector Thomas Jepsen , Jr. " MDARD inspections facilitate prevent the spread of harmful plague and works disease - protecting not just public displays , but also home landscapes and garden . "
MDARD inspectors conduct a thorough visual review of the imported tulip medulla , front for sign of rot , soft spot , mites and fungal infections . If the inspectors detect any health , safety , or environmental headache , they restrict the planting of those bulb or take treatment before planting proceeds .
" We ’re planting 648,000 tulip this year , all by hand , " said Jamie Scott , Deputy Director of Parks and Cemeteries at the City of Holland . " The fact that MDARD could come in and visit our tulip and ensure we ’re providing a production that is not detrimental to the surround is incredible . "
Whether establish a few bulbs in a place garden or hundreds of thousands of lightbulb in a major display , maintaining pest - free light-green spaces is essential to ecological health and the integrity of the food organization . MDARD performs inspections for a variety of plants shipped to nurseries and greenhouses across the state , work direct with the gardening industry to protect against the serious economic and environmental threats posed by invasive species and plant disease .
Source : Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
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