Visiting a Fresno orange grove, Schwarzenegger said he was asking the U.S. government for disaster status, which would allow California to seek aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration to offset losses to growers and other businesses.

"This is not just about the crop this year. It could also have a devastating effect next year," Schwarzenegger said. "My administration will make sure that we do everything we can to help the farmers and workers get through this."

Nearly every winter crop is affected by the freeze, from avocados to strawberries to fresh-cut flowers, but it's the state's citrus crop that stands to take the biggest economic hit.

"We may adjust the prices as we discover the full extent of the damage next week, but for now, if you bought an orange at the supermarket for 50 cents, expect to pay a dollar to $1.49 for it," said Todd Steel, owner of Royal Vista Marketing, which sells California citrus to markets throughout the country.

With the NFL playoffs in full swing, some fans may choose to go without two traditional favorites.

"Avocados are expensive enough as it is," said Joseph Vasquez, a 32- year-old school teacher from Pasadena. "We may have to do without guacamole for a while. And we may be drinking our Coronas without limes."

California is the nation's No. 1 producer of fresh citrus, growing about 86 percent of lemons and 21 percent of oranges sold in the U.S., according to the California Farm Bureau. Florida produces more oranges, but those are mostly processed for orange juice.

More than 70 percent of this season's oranges, lemons and tangerines _ nearly $1 billion worth of fruit _ were still on the trees as nighttime temperatures in California's Central Valley dipped into the low 20s and teens on four straight nights beginning Friday. The freeze ruined as much as three-quarters of the California citrus crop, growers say; the fruit is threatened whenever the mercury falls below 28 degrees.