Experts are stunned at the tomato and potato blight that reared its infectious head early this year--and it's widespread..

"Late blight" caused the Irish potato famine in the 1800s.. and it's the same blight hitting plants in the Eastern United States this year--early!

Tomato plants are being removed from Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Kmart stores across the Northeast.. One expert called the blight "Bubonic Plague for plants" ..

According to the Associated Press report, "Agriculture officials in the various states still are trying to determine where the outbreak started. One major grower, Alabama-based Bonnie Plants, supplies most of the tomato plants to big-box stores, but it is unclear whether the plants were infected before or after leaving the supplier's multiple greenhouses"..