The 49 hybrids of sugar beet and semi-forage beet used in this research were characterized by a variable concentration of saccharose (14.58% +/- 1.28), Na (5.51 +/- 3.07 mmol kg(-1)), K (57.44 +/- 9.71 mmol kg(-1)), N (21.68 +/- 4.75 mmol kg(-1)), yield (68.36 +/- 10.29 t ha(-1)) and differentiated fermentation efficiency (5.14 +/- 1.22 m(3) ha(-1)). It was found that the effectiveness of fermentation depends not only on the saccharose content in the sugar beet, but also its relationships with other components of the dry matter. High sugar beet yield have significant effect on ethanol yield. The impurities such as K, N and Na have a negative effect on efficiency of the fermentation process. It also specifies varietal differences on ethanol yield. It has been found that high ethanol yield is correlated with diploid hybrids which are sugar hybrids. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.