The objective of this study was to evaluate the initial development of three varieties of sugarcane (RB002504, RB867515 and RB931011) in five levels of soil density (1.0; 1.2; 1.4; 1.6 and 1.8 Mg m-3). The study was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Campus of Rondonópolis in randomized block design consisting of 3 x 5 factorial scheme corresponding to 3 varieties of sugarcane and 5 levels of soil compaction and four replications. The evaluated variables were number of tillers, number of leaves, leaf area, dry mass of leaf and stem, stem length and plant height. The data were submitted to F test at 0.05 of probability and for comparison of means by the Tukey test for varieties and polynomial regression for densities. The variety RB002504 showed good tillering, but not good development of stems. The variety RB867515 showed good development of leaf area showing good adaptation to the studied soil while variety RB931011 stood out in stem development.
soil density; Saccharum officinarum L.; plant development
