The present invention relates to a picking roller (6) for a front attachment for harvesting seed heads of stalky crops with a helical inlet section (12) for receiving the crop and a roller body (14) following thereon with crop treatment elements (15) protruding in the radial direction distributed over its circumference, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the roller body (14) in sections, wherein a respective crop treatment element (15) is formed as drivers (19a, 19b) arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the roller body (14), wherein a following driver (19a, 19b) relative to a preceding driver (19a, 19b) of the crop treatment element (15) has an offset in the circumferential direction of the roller body (14), so that a spiral-shaped structure of the arrangement of the drivers (19a, 19b) materialises, and that between drivers (19a, 19b) arranged adjacent in the circumferential direction a spiral-shaped gap (20) that is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the picking roller (6) is formed.
