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The disease, known as "late blight," is the same one that caused the infamous Irish potato famine in the 1840s.
At least four commercial-scale tomato and potato growers have confirmed the disease in Lancaster County.
And state Department of Agriculture inspectors have been visiting big-box stores here and elsewhere in the state to track down the source of infected plants sold over the counter.
The stores have voluntarily removed the plants, according to Beth Gugino, vegetable pathologist in Penn State's Department of Plant Pathology.
"The damage is already done, for the most part," she said.
Gugino and the agriculture department declined to name the stores.
Further complicating matters is the likelihood that many backyard gardeners are unaware of the disease. Spores from their plants are being spread by the wind, infecting neighbors' plots and other gardens miles away.
Late blight is a disease that usually pops up in gardens late in the growing season throughout the Northeast. As such, it is only a nuisance.
But a cool and wet spring and early summer has led to the earliest and most extensive outbreak on record in Pennsylvania, Gugino said.
"That's what makes it pretty alarming," she said Tuesday. "Usually it develops later in the season and only is found at a couple tomato and potato locations.
"At this point, it's pretty common across the state on both tomato and potato plants."
The blight has been found among the 12,000 staked tomato plants at The Tomato Barn in Washington Boro.
"This is probably the worst I've ever seen in farming tomatoes in 30 years," said A. Steve Funk, co-owner of the operation.
Like other large-scale tomato growers, Funk got word of the blight and sprayed his plants with a fungicide.
Still, his yield of early tomatoes was down and the ones picked were smaller than usual.
"We're keeping things pretty much under control, but we do have the situation here," he said.
The disease could have been devastating, he said, if he didn't have most of his plants covered in plastic, which blocks out the wet conditions that spread the disease.
Farther south, Steve Groff is holding his breath. So far, none of his 30,000 tomato plants has been infected on his Cedar Meadow Farm near Holtwood.
"I'm in a defensive mode here," Groff said. "It's a dreaded disease."
He heard that a commercial tomato grower in the Georgetown area had a problem with the disease.
Penn State's Gugino said the disease was found at a tomato grower near Marietta that serves the Furmano's brand of tomato products.
Also infected was an organic tomato and potato farm near New Holland, she said.
In Chester County, a 140-acre potato operation was infected.
Commercial growers have access to potent fungicides to combat the disease. But homeowners can only buy a preventive fungicide that goes by the common name of cholorothalonil.
However, once a plant in a backyard garden is infected, it's probably too late to do anything.
"That's what makes it so devastating," Gugino said. "Once you get it, there's really not a whole lot you can do."
Weather will dictate just how much havoc the disease wreaks.
"The best situation we can hope for right now is for it to become hot and sunny," Gugino said. "If we finally get the summer we're supposed to have, the conditions will slow down the spread."
Funk said, "The tomatoes are happy when we're uncomfortable, and we haven't been uncomfortable at all."
And the worst-case scenario if it continues cool and wet?
"Then, I think we're looking at a potentially significant loss in tomatoes and potatoes," Gugino said. "Prices might go up."
Residents who suspect late blight on tomatoes or potatoes are asked to contact the local county Penn State Cooperative Extension office. The phone number for the Lancaster office is 394-6851.
E-mail: acrable@lnpnews.com
