Harvesting machine for stalk crops having a stepped cutting blades

A harvesting machine for harvesting corn and similar crops on stalks, the harvesting machine comprising:

• at least one circulating endless conveyor for engaging a crop, wherein the at least one endless conveyor forms a crop feed area for feeding the crop to an inlet opening of a processing device for further processing the crop;
• wherein the at least one endless conveyor has a lower cutting plane for the crop, wherein the lower cutting plane comprises outwardly extending conveying and guiding elements and at least one cutting blade arranged below the conveying and guiding elements;
• wherein the cutting blade has a stepped configuration and, viewed in a running direction of the conveying and guiding elements, has cutting segments, wherein each one of the cutting segments has a cutting edge and extends at a slant outwardly relative to a circulating path of the conveying and guiding elements;
• wherein the cutting blade has cutting segment steps positioned between two neighboring ones of the cutting segments, respectively.