During India's Great Famine of 1876–78, which had been aggravated by Viceroy Lytton's policy of exporting Indian wheat and other cash crops, Troilokyanath advised the government that it could save many lives by promoting the cultivation of carrots; the policy was adopted in the Raebareli and Sultanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Our chief expectations this direction rest upon (1) lucerne in irrigated tracts, mangelwurzel" — a type of beet grown mainly for animal feed — and "(3) extension of the cultivation of carrots, potatoes and other root crops to districts where they are little known.

One of his most famous works is Damru Charit (Bengali: ডমরু-চরিত) a collection of humorous and satirical short stories published posthumously in 1923.

The stories, set in colonial India, recount the life and times of the antihero Damrudhar, portrayed as a dishonest man who rises from a lowly shop-assistant to a landowner.

[4] An English translation of several of his stories is published as Of Ghosts and Other Perils (Arnab Bhattacharya, trans., 2013: Orient Blackswan, 288 pages.