Technical Abstract: Peach (Prunus persica, Rosaceae) is one of the most widely adapted fruits. Readily propagated by seed, they have been widely dispersed to distant regions where farmers have selected locally adapted types. This process of directed selection, followed by an era of intentional breeding, has produced an array of cultivars that allow peach to be cultivated from tropical highland regions to areas with winter temperatures down to -30 degrees C. The "peach" industry consists of three slightly overlapping segments: fresh-market peaches (mostly freestones with melting flesh), canning peaches (mostly firm-fleshed or non-melting clingstones) and fresh-market nectarines (mostly melting fleshed, both freestone and clingstone). Most of the commercially grown peaches and nectarines have yellow-fleshed fruit, although in recent years an increasing number of trees of white-fleshed cultivars have been planted. This chapter discusses peach origins, variety development, culture and genetics.