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BACKGROUND: An innovative version of the sterile insect technique (SIT) for pest control, called boosted SIT, relies on the use of sterile males coated with a biocide to control a target wild pest population of the same species. The objective of the present study was to assess the relevance of such technology to control the fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis and fruit losses in mango orchards using. An agent‐based simulation model named BOOSTIT was used to explore the reduction of fruit losses thank to sterile male fruit flies control and economic benefits according to different strategies of sterile male release. The simulation considered a landscape of 30.25 ha made up of four mango orchards. RESULTS: The SIT and the boosted SIT reduced fruit losses when releases were made before the mango fruiting period. According to model simulations, releases should be performed at least seven times at 2‐week intervals and with a sterile/wild male ratio of at least 10:1. Considering the benefit/cost ratio (BCR), few releases should be done with a late start date. The BCR showed economic gains from the two control methods, the number of saved fruits and BCR being higher for SIT. CONCLUSION: Our simulations showed that SIT would have better results than the boosted SIT to contribute to an effective control of Bactrocera dorsalis at the scale of a small landscape. We highlight the need for laboratory studies of other types of pathogen to find a suitable one with higher incubation time and lower cost. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describing the genetic structure and diversity of invasive insect pest populations is essential to better understand a species' invasion history and success throughout its distribution range. Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) is a destructive pest of tomato and many other solanaceous crops, with very high economic impacts. Its invasion threatens food security in a large part of the globe, in areas such as sub‐Saharan Africa where the agricultural resilience has already been weakened by rapid human‐induced changes due in particular to population growth, increased trade and global change. This work aimed to investigate the diversity and genetic structure of 60 populations of T. absoluta using microsatellite markers, with a particular focus on sub‐Saharan Africa. Our results revealed distinct differentiation and diversity patterns between T. absoluta native versus invaded areas, and high genetic homogeneity among the African populations sampled. However, for the first time, two weakly differentiated but distinct genetic clusters in Africa were identified. The results suggest few introduction events of the species in Africa or multiple introductions from genetically close areas, significant gene flow between outbreaks and seem to indicate the existence of two distinct clusters in Africa. This new data enable us to formulate hypotheses on the species' invasion patterns and the dynamics of its invasive populations. These hypotheses must be verified with more extensive sampling over the whole range of T. absoluta, especially in its presumed native area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]