Interesting paper out of the University of Hawai'i which has been studying Asian Natural Farming Techniques. This one's about
IMO 4 as a soil inoculant and, if I'm understanding this correctly, says that comparable, cheaper and lower effort results could be had using the substrate alone instead of IMO 4. You know, regular old
compost and mulch.
It acknowledges that more study is needed and does cite its beneficial effect in livestock waste management.