To set a range to text:
xlYourRange.NumberFormat = "@";
You can also prefix a value you put in a cell with an apostrophe for it to format it as text:
xlYourRange.Value = "'0123456";
To set a range to number
xlYourRange.NumberFormat = "0";
Obviously if you want to set the format for the entire column then your range will be the column.
xlYourRange = xlWorksheet.get_Range("A1").EntireColumn;
EDIT:
Dates are a bit more complicated and will also depend on your regional settings:
// Results in a Date field of "23/5/2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "DD/MM/YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "23/5/2011";
// Results in a Custom field of "23/5/2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "DD-MM-YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "23/5/2011";
// Results in a Custom field of "05/23/2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "MM/DD/YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "5/23/2011";
// Results in a Custom field of "05-23-2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "MM-DD-YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "5/23/2011";
// Results in a Date field of "23/05/2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "DD/MM/YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "5/23/2011";
// Results in a Custom field of "23-05-2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "DD-MM-YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "5/23/2011";
// Results in a Custom field of "23/5/2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "MM/DD/YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "23/5/2011";
// Results in a Custom field of "23/5/2011"
xlRange.NumberFormat = "MM-DD-YYYY";
xlRange.Value = "23/5/2011";