US’ First Lady Jill Biden has christened in Washington D.C. the Dutch tulip that bears her name. The ‘Jill Biden’ tulip is among the new varieties that are easy to propagate and virtually impervious to diseases and pests.

The first crossing of this variety took place twenty years ago. ‘Several years ago we switched to an updated approach in terms of breeding, markers and resistances. The result is a variety that is easy to propagate and virtually impervious to diseases and pests,’ reports breeder Hobaho. The tulip is bred for freshness, but it is also suitable for dry sales.

The Jill Biden tulip was developed by Hobaho, part of Dümmen Orange. Hobaho’s test center in Lisse, South Holland, breeds ornamental bulbous plants and also conducts active research into resistances in tulips, among others. Exploitation of the Jill Biden tulip is done by Remarkable Tulips.

‘The tulip has a friendly apricot color that goes well with the look of Jill Biden. The fringes of the tulip glisten when the sun shines on it. That fits well with the optimism the First Lady is known for,’ says Hobaho director, Foeke Gardenier about the tulip.

 Pre-Clearance program

 Royal Anthos, the Department of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the United States Department of Agriculture signed the Pre-Clearance program in 1951. This program aims to safeguard the quality and health of flower bulbs and perennials. On the one hand, this is done through strict standardization of diseases and pests and, on the other hand, through U.S. and Dutch inspectors conducting joint phytosanitary inspections in the Netherlands.

Under the Pre-Clearance program, some 1 million flower bulbs are exported annually from the Netherlands to the United States. Tulips have by far the largest share of these, at 45 percent.

 

Source: Nieuweoogst.nl