Nematode population density at planting is correlated with yield loss. Since it is difficult to accurately sample nematodes in the spring, fall population densities are used to identify those areas that should be treated (either fumigation or application of 3.5 to 7 lbs of Temik 15G)the next spring. The higher the nematode population density, the more expensive the control recommendation. A study was done to follow fall population densities of root-knot nematode in three fields over a 3-year period. The purpose was to determine how much the recommendation would change for variable rate applications if samples were taken yearly, versus once every other year, or once in three years. The penalty of sampling less frequently depended on the field. One field changed rapidly, resulting in 29 and 54% of recommendations changing substantially after 2 and 3 years, respectively. One field hardly changed at all, and the other was intermediate. A second approach was taken to minimize the number of samples necessary to adequately characterize root-knot nematode density in a field. Infrared photographs were taken at fields and used to select sampling sites based on variability in reflectance bands. However, when comparing the number of samples taken from remote sensing versus from traditional sampling, the remote sensing approach did not result in fewer nematode samples, unless dramatic soil texture differences were present. For variable rate application of nematicides to be cost-effective, sampling costs must be minimized. This means either only doing variable rate applications in fields with marked soil texture differences, or identifying nematode specific reflectance patterns that can be seen using remote sensing.