Abstract: The cutting cylinder of a forage harvester is provided with a plurality of fragmenting bars interspersed between the circumferentially spaced apart knives of the cylinder. Each of the fragmenting bars has a generally radially outwardly projecting portion that terminates in an outermost, serrated margin located inwardly adjacent the extremity of the cylinder as defined by the cutting edges of the knives during rotation thereof. Such serrations of the bars present rasping teeth that abraid, fracture and fragment crop cuttings produced by the knives so as to provide more uniformly sized, finer crop fragments and cracked kernels for the production of high quality silage.