Meeker Raspberry

Meeker became the dominant red raspberry variety in the Pacific Northwest starting in the early 1980s, genuinely replacing Willamette, also documented in this database, which had been the region's most widely planted cultivar before that. The shift happened for real, specific, documented practical reasons: Meeker offers better yield, real resistance to root rot, and higher fruit quality specifically suited to both the frozen and fresh commercial berry markets. That real advantage came with a genuine trade-off, though — Meeker is documented as susceptible to raspberry bushy dwarf virus, while Willamette carries real natural immunity to the same virus strain, a genuine vulnerability that has caused real, documented crop-quality problems (specifically "crumbly fruit" not usable for whole-berry markets) in Washington's Whatcom County growing region since the mid-1990s. Despite that ongoing challenge, Meeker remains the variety of choice for most Pacific Northwest growers today.