The purpose of this study was to identify, through multivariate analyzes, the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil that best explain the initial development of eucalyptus treated with limestone and lime sludge. This study was conducted in 2014 in the municipality of Três Lagoas (MS). Three treatments were experimented corresponding to the applications of (i) limestone, (ii) lime sludge, and (iii) control or application of neither limestone nor lime sludge. The principal components analysis identified that Group 1 assembling gravimetric moisture, hydrogen potential, calcium and aluminum and, Group 2 composed of contents of sand, clay, phosphorus and organic matter explained 54.96% of the total variability that showed higher discriminatory power of eucalyptus height and diameter variation at breast height. The treatment with limestone showed a contrast between high pH and high Ca content, but low levels of aluminum.