Morpho-physiological bases of biomass production by energy cane and sugarcane: A comparative study

•Sugarcane and energy canes were evaluated during plant cane and first ratoon cycles.•Energy canes showed higher light interception efficiency than sugarcane due to higher tillering.•Energy canes presented lower photosynthetic activity at leaf and crop levels than sugarcane during unstressed growth.•Under drought, energy canes had similar leaf photosynthesis and higher light conversion efficiency than sugarcane.•Yield was more stable between crop cycles in energy canes than in sugarcane.