ARS researchers jointly developed Lewis in cooperation with the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand. The new berry's name honors historic figures in both countries. The expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent the winter of 1805-06 in Oregon after reaching the Pacific during their historic overland trek. New Zealand surveyor Henry Lewis discovered a route through that country's Southern Alps in the 1850s. Lewis red raspberry should grow well in the Pacific Northwest, California and other raspberry-growing areas where winter temperatures don't fall much below zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Raspberries are low in fat and a good source of dietary fiber.
Research at the Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, SC, has indicated that red raspberries may be potent cancer-fighters due to their high ellagic acid content. The greenbug, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, is a serious pest of grain and sorghum in the Southern Plains. The PRI was based on the plants' tolerance to greenbug, their negative effect on greenbug biology, and their degree of preference by the greenbug. The PRI was 90 for GRS 1201 and only 25 for Largo. The susceptible control, TAM W-101, had a PRI of 1.