LUCKNOW, June 4 -- The Centre has approved setting up of new horticulture centres of excellence in three districts -- Mirzapur, Barabanki and Jhansi, minister of state (independent charge), horticulture and agriculture marketing Dinesh Pratap Singh said on Tuesday. Along with improving the quality of fruit and vegetable production, these centres will impart training and use of advanced techniques by farmers in the production of dragon fruit, dates, citrus fruits, flowers and vegetables. A centre of excellence for vegetable and flower will be established with Indo-Dutch cooperation in Sonikpur village in Haidergarh tehsil, Barabanki district. The Netherlands government will be a partner of this centre, and their experts have already visited the site, the minister said. A centre of excellence for dragon fruit and dates will be established in Deori Kala village in Mirzapur's Marihan tehsil. The Indian Horticultural Research Institute, Bengaluru and Agriculture University, Kota (Rajasthan) will provide technical support to it, Singh said. A centre of excellence for citrus fruits will be established in the Horticulture and Training Centre located in Baruasagar in Jhansi district. This centre will receive technical support from Israeli, Singh said, adding the objective is to train farmers in the latest techniques from plant production to marketing of their products. htc...