This study had as its objective to evaluate the effects of different tillage and crop systems on the growth and productivity of sugarcane plants. The experiment was conducted in Linhares, ES. It is one of the oldest assays in the country investigating the effects of unburned and burned sugarcane. Installed in a Yellow Latosol with sandy/medium texture, the treatments consisted of plots (conventional and minimum tillage) and subplots (raw and burned sugarcane). Plant growth, contribution of organic matter and quantification of sugarcane yield were evaluated. The diameter was larger for minimum tillage, and tillering was greater for conventional tillage. The height and tillering were superior in the cut without burning. For stems productivity, the treatments did not present significant differences. The leaves were larger in minimum tillage and tips in unburned cane. The minimum tillage propitiates the increase in diameter initially and largest productivity of leaves in the crop. Tillering is favored by conventional tillage. The unburned cane did not present negative influence of straw in the regrowth. After 16 years of sugarcane cultivation with and without straw burning, it resulted in larger productivity of pointers increasing the productivity of the stems in unburned cane.
sugarcane; tillage systems; crop handling
