Calcutta, Aug. 23: The gov- ernment today gave a clean chit to the cultivation of Frito-Lay’s potato seeds, which the CPM farmers’ wing said were “diseased”, but issued a rider that their cultivation would be “restricted”.

The imported Atlantic variety of seeds was introduced in India by PepsiCo in 2000.

The Krishak Sabha had charged the company with supplying “diseased” seeds to farmers who were growing potatoes for its chips factory in Howrah. It cited a report from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Shimla, which said the Atlantic seeds had been known to cause wot, an infectious disease which might also affect the quality of the soil.

The government conceded that the variety was sensitive to wot, but clarified that cultivation could be carried out in south Bengal.

In guidelines issued to farmers, the agriculture department has warned them against using the seed north of the Farakka Barrage and beyond Bankura in the west.

Cultivation can be carried out in the rest of the state, but not for two years in a row.

PepsiCo has been asked to inform the government before ordering farmers in a certain area to use the seeds. Ex-perts will examine the land there and give the nod.

“Burdwan, Hooghly, Birbhum and the Midnapores have been giving very good yields with the Atlantic variety,” a senior agricultural department official said.