News travels fast in the Mississippi Delta, especially when it comes to cotton yields.
A few years ago, producer Parker Adcock heard from trusted neighbors that PhytoGen® brand varieties were consistently outyielding competitive varieties on their operation. Eager to improve his family’s farm for the next generation, Adcock decided to plant PhytoGen® cottonseed on his operation near Holly Bluff, Mississippi in 2024.
The first year, he planted PhytoGen® brand PHY 411 W3FE alongside a Deltapine variety, and PHY 411 W3FE outyielded the competitor variety by 100 pounds per acre. That’s a significant yield increase anywhere in the Cotton Belt.
“A 100-pound yield increase will get your attention fast, so we decided to switch to 100% PhytoGen brand varieties the next season,” Adcock said. “That’s a no brainer. At today’s prices, 100 pounds more is $65 an acre which makes a real difference on 3,000 acres. It doesn’t take a big lint increase across a lot of acres to make a big difference on your bottom line.”
In 2025, he again saw strong yields, even with an extremely wet spring and late planted cotton. He began planting in late April but was soon rained out. He didn’t get the rest of his cotton planted until May 20 to 25. With cotton planted so late, he didn’t have high hopes for exceptional yields. But to his surprise, PHY 411 W3FE again proved itself reliable, even breaking yield records on his farm.
“I have a field that has historically yielded about 1,250 to 1,300 pounds per acre with perfect planting conditions and a really good year,” Adcock said. “Even planted two to three weeks late, PHY 411 W3FE picked 1,655 pounds per acre – we’ve never had a yield that high on that farm. The yields with PHY 411 W3FE really surprised us.”
Always preparing for the future, Adcock planted a variety trial in 2025 that included two new products: PhytoGen® brand PHY 357 W3FE and PHY 433 W3FE. Both varieties produced better than Adcock expected, yielding more than 3.8 bales to the acre. PHY 433 W3FE took the No. 1 spot in the trial with more than one ton to the acre – a massive yield for his farm. Even so, Adcock thinks PHY 357 W3FE could contend for the No. 1 spot with the right management program.
“PHY 433 W3FE was the highest yielder in our trial with 2,082 pounds per acre,” Adcock said. “PHY 357 W3FE yielded 1,826 pounds per acre, which is great, but I think it could yield as good or better than PHY 433 W3FE with the right PGR program. I’ll plant both of them with PHY 411 W3FE next year.”
Adcock’s farm is comprised of varying soil types alongside Silver Creek and Sunflower River. Fields are sandiest next to rivers and become heavier farther from the water systems. With other cottonseed, he would need to plant the field with different varieties suited to the soil types, but that complicates planting and management. With PHY 411 W3FE across the whole field, he produces consistent yields from one end to the other.
“I can plant PHY 411 W3FE end to end, turnrow to turnrow, and it will yield the same across the field, maybe 20 pounds different from the good soils to the tougher dirt,” Adcock said. “It’s a very consistent, very good yielder, and that strong performance lets me plant cotton on less productive land where I typically had to plant soybeans. That also helps my bottom line.”
With current commodity prices, Adcock aims to reduce inputs where he can. He plants a lower seeding rate, a proven practice with the industry-leading seedling vigor of PhytoGen cottonseed. Adcock previously planted 44,000 seeds per acre with other varieties, but he’s lowered that rate to 40,000, while keeping yields high and without increasing replants. That 10 percent savings is money in his pocket before the crop is in the ground.
“We spend about $100 an acre on cottonseed. If you can trim that by $10 per acre on 3,000 acres, that’s a lot of money at the end of the season,” Adcock said. “I’m saving on inputs by planting a lower population, and in today’s economy, every little bit helps.”
High yield potential and lower input costs drive Adcock’s cottonseed decision, but he also chose PhytoGen brand varieties because of the herbicide program. He said the Enlist® weed control system gives him better options to control weeds, with Enlist One® herbicide as the foundation.
“We have a lot of glyphosate-resistant pigweed and marestail in our area, and Enlist One has been very good at taking care of those problems,” Adcock said. “We haven’t had any weed break-throughs or issues – it works great.”
In addition to weed control, Adcock likes the tank-mix flexibility with Enlist One herbicide. He includes residual herbicides and insecticides in the tank for fewer trips across the field — saving him both time and money by reducing applications. He also started planting Pioneer® brand Enlist E3® soybeans for ease of management between the two crops.
“It so much easier to have everything in one system,” Adcock said. “I can keep everything clean and get high yields – I highly recommend it.”
As he looks to the 2026 season, he acknowledges challenges on the horizon related to commodity prices and production costs. But with better yield potential and opportunities to lower inputs, he remains optimistic.
“Farming is all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was six years old, so I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can,” Adcock said. “There’s a lot of passion and pride in farming that you don’t get in a lot of industries. I’m trying to build something for my children to have. I want to improve on what was given to me and pass it down. And in the meantime, I want to enjoy it – this is a great way to make a living.”
Find information on yields, input costs, and more in the PhytoGen Cottonseed Agronomy Library.
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