This study used a versatile temperature-control device to assess the effect of temperature (12-40°C) and duration (2-12 weeks) of flooding on the survival of Leptosphaeria spp. in canola (Brassica napus) stubble. Canola basal stems with blackleg symptoms were submerged in water in small glass jars containing 20 cm 3 soil on a thermogradient plate capable of simultaneously maintaining up to 96 independent temperature regimes. Flooded stems were sampled at 2-week intervals, surface-sterilized, and incubated on V8-juice agar for 10 days to recover the pathogen. Flooding for 2 weeks substantially reduced pathogen recovery relative to non-flooded controls and the pathogen was not recovered after 6 weeks of flooding, irrespective of temperature. The pathogen was eliminated slightly more rapidly at flooding temperatures >20°C than at 12-16°C. There was no difference between Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa in their ability to survive flooding. Stem tissues degraded most rapidly during the first 2 weeks of flooding, corresponding to a quick decline in pathogen survival during the same period. These results indicate that a paddy rice crop following winter rapeseed may minimize the impact of blackleg by eradicating the inoculum of Leptosphaeria spp. in stubble.