Appearance

• The biggest difference between peaches and nectarines is the skin. Peaches have a thin, fuzzy, drier skin. Peach skin is yellow and red with hues in between. A nectarine's skin is smooth and moist with the same reddish yellow color. Both have yellow and white flesh varieties with a pit in the center. The peach pit has a slightly more oblong shape with ribbed texture. Overall, nectarines are slightly smaller in size as well.
  
  

Smell and Taste

• Nectarines have a more powerful, more aromatic smell. The taste is similar to peaches, but slightly more acidic with a spicy zing in the aftertaste.
  
  

Genetics

• Nectarines may have mutated from peaches and therefore are similar in genetic structure. Both have the scientific name, prunus persica, and grow on the same trees. In fact, nectarines were first observed growing in America in the same crops as peaches. Nectarines have recessive genes, while peaches carry the dominant gene.
  
  

Susceptibility

• The most common diseases that affect peaches and nectarines is brown rot and bacterial spot. The only difference is that the nectarine is more vulnerable to both of these diseases than the peach.